Tell Me
by Airborne Kites
Summary: He sighed. She wasn't going to tell him right now. They weren't going to get anywhere. Then he realised that Granger was an utter mess, and sighed again. He picked her up before she could respond, turned on the spot, and apparated away to her appartment. *Rated T for swearing and some torture.*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N  
**

**Hello! This is my first fanfiction. There's no Draco/Hermione interaction to begin with but it does come eventually, I promise! Please review and let me know what I can improve.  
**

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Chapter 1.

A faint rustling caused her to hold up her wand, immediately alert.

'_Lumos,' _she whispered.

Nothing moved, from what she could see in the wandlight. She carried on walking, keeping her wand aloft. Feeling slightly worried, she quickened her pace and walked hurriedly towards the shop. Just a few more metres to go. Why hadn't she remembered to buy Crookshanks' medicine earlier? Coming to this side of Diagon Alley at this time of night wasn't something she particularly loved doing.

The bell tinkled softly as she entered Magical Menagerie, alerting the old shopkeeper to her presence. He smiled as she came into the dim light, recognising his regular customer. Then he frowned.

'Why are you out so late, dear? This place can be dangerous at this time of night, especially for you.'

'I know,' she sighed. 'But I've run out of medicine for Crookshanks. I really need some more.'

'Let me just summon some of that, then. Three vials?'

At her nod, he waved his wand, causing three vials to come zooming out of the shelves behind him, and onto the counter.

'That'll be two galleons and six sickles, please.'

After paying the appropriate amount, and placing the vials in one of the many pockets of her robe, she headed towards the door.

'Be careful!'

'I will!' she called back over her shoulder as she stepped into the cold night air.

Time to disapparate home. She began to turn on the spot, before someone grabbed her around her waist and clamped a hand down on her mouth. Her wand was taken from her pocket. _Shit. _She bit the hand, making the person, a man by the sound of it, grunt in pain. He didn't remove his hand though, only clamped down harder.

She was dragged unceremoniously into an alleyway, struggling the whole time. Who was holding her? What did they want?

'Well well, what do we have here?'

She could make out a faint silhouette of a person in front of her. And the voice. She knew that voice. But she couldn't put a finger on it. Who was it?

'Don't recognise me yet? _Lumos._'

A light shone straight into her eyes, making her squint. Then it was moved away, illuminating the face before her. Oh Merlin. She knew this man.

She couldn't say anything due to the hand on her mouth. The man seemed to notice this.

'Goyle, take your hand off her mouth now. There's no one around to hear her scream.'

'Nott,' she spat as soon as her mouth was free.

'Ah, she recognises me.'

'I swear to Merlin, if you don't let me go right now-'

'You'll do what? We have your wand. You're currently being restrained. What exactly do you plan to do?'

She didn't reply, instead choosing to bring her leg up behind her, kicking Goyle where it hurt, eliciting a yowl of pain from him. He let her go and she started to run, only to be caught by the dark haired man in front of her. He chuckled darkly, wedging her legs between his so that she was unable to move them. She gritted her teeth in pain; the arms around her ribcage weren't exactly gentle.

'Why're you doing this, Nott?'

'I thought it was fairly obvious. I wanted to catch a certain mudblood.' He said it so casually, without a care in the world.

'Oh _please,' _Hermione kept her voice confident, trying to think of ways to escape.'I think it's high time we get over childish prejudice. The war is over, Nott. Voldemort is dead.'

'The Dark Lord may be dead, Mudblood, but that doesn't change the fact that you're still a mudblood. He may be dead, but his army carries on. And anyway, my father needs to be avenged.'

'You'd think you would have realised by now, blood doesn't affect magical abilities. You'd think a _war _would have put that into your thick brain.'

'My mind is made up. There's no one around here to catch me like you caught my father.' His voice chilled her to the bone.

'Our blood is the _same_ Nott. You clinging onto stupid ideas isn't helping anyone.'

'Well, you're certainly right there. It's not helping _you _in any way, is it? _Crucio!_'

He let her fall to the ground as she writhed in pain. Her insides were on fire, and there were thousands of knives trying to stab their way into her. Suddenly the pain stopped, and she looked up to see Nott smirking at her.

'Had enough, Mudblood?' She didn't respond, just glared at him.

'My, haven't we learnt our lesson yet? Still challenging a pureblood, when you should be begging at our feet? How did you even have the nerve to go around capturing people like my father, Granger? _Crucio!'_

Pain exploded through her body, limb by limb. The curse that was being held for five minutes felt to Hermione like five long, excruciating hours.

'Let's see how long mudbloods take to die. Goyle, you counting? _Crucio!_'

The minutes stretched on endlessly. He used hundreds of different curses on her, different variations of the cruciatus curse.

_Please, God. Don't let me die like this, _she prayed as yet another curse hit her, causing her to curl into foetal position and grab at her own arms, dragging her nails across her skin in pain. _Please._

He carried on mercilessly, until hours later, her breathing was hardly noticeable. Her pulse was reduced to a faint fluttering. One last swift kick at her ribs, one last laugh, before they disapparated.

They left her in the alley, thinking her dead.

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Hermione woke up an hour later on the cold floor of Knockturn Alley. Her cloak was ripped, her arms were covered in blood from self-inflicted wounds. She dragged herself up off the floor, shivering violently. It was still dark, she couldn't see much, and she knew she had to get out of this place. Gathering the last of her energy, she turned on the spot and apparated to her apartment, letting out a silent scream of pain as she was pressed through the metaphorical rubber tube.

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**A/N**

**Leave a review!  
**

**AK**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**I know these first chapters are short but bear with me here.**

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Chapter 2

Hermione found herself on the floor of her apartment in the early hours of the morning. She couldn't think straight. She couldn't think. The only thing that registered in her mind was _pain. _Pain which had her rocking back and forth, unable to move away from the floor she sat on, unable to form a coherent thought.

To and fro she rocked, forcing her brain to stop panicking, to think. To and fro she rocked, attempting to ease her aching muscles of the soreness.

She slowly came to grips with reality, trying to forget her pains for one minute. She was desperately thirsty, but she couldn't pull herself up due to her aching body. The only way she could move was to awkwardly shuffle along the floor. She winced every time she moved, but at long last she reached the sink, where she hoisted herself up with the help of the shelf, her limbs shaking. Then she turned on the tap and drank straight from the tap; she didn't have the energy it required to get herself a glass.

After satisfying her thirst she crawled over to her cabinet in the living room, trying to focus on anything but the mind-numbing pain threatening to overtake again. The cabinet contained her emergency equipment. She pulled it open frantically, and reached inside.

The first potion she took was a sip of calming draught, began to soothe her frayed nerves. She then took a small sip of invigorating draught. She slumped against the cabinet, waiting for the potion to take effect. As she felt small amounts of energy returning to her, she began searching with one hand for the spare wand at the back of the cabinet, so she could repair her broken wrist.

'_Episkey.' _She muttered, pointing it. She grimaced slightly as her hand put itself in the right shape, the bones making a cracking sound as the moved.

There was nothing that could fix her internal aches, as they were mostly mental due to the dark nature of torture curses. Only time and rest could fix that.

Before even checking under her clothes for visible injuries, she stumbled over to her bed and fell asleep, her mind shutting down as soon as her head hit the mattress.

Four hours later she was woken up by Nott's sneering face appearing in her dreams, causing her to scream and sit up, panting. The calming drought had worn off, then.

After taking another dose of the draught, she stood up shakily from her bed and walked to the bathroom, hoping a warm shower would help relieve the pain.

As she undressed, she noticed the scars and bruises on her body. Her arms were covered in self-inflicted scratched; a common result of torture. There were numerous bruises and grazes all over her, and an extremely large bruise over her ribcage, which she assumed was there because of the kick she had received. All these scars which had to be healed, when all she wanted to do was sleep. She sighed as she picked up the tube of bruise removal paste Fred and George had given her all those years ago, as well as a bottle of Murtlap essence. She applied both generously over her body before turning on the shower.

Twenty minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her hair finally grime-free. She put on a bath robe and sat wearily on her bed, wincing, before leaning back and placing her head on her pillow. She lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, unsure of whether she would actually be able to get to sleep. Going into work tomorrow was not an option. She would have to send a patronus to the office. Neither could she tell Harry or Ron, as they would probably go chasing after Nott and get themselves hurt.

And _Nott had her wand_. Although she couldn't think of anything dangerous they could do with it, they probably could. After all, they were dark wizards. Although she had her emergency wand, anyone would notice it wasn't her usual one. Especially Harry and Ron. Could she pretend she dropped it somewhere? _No, _she decided. It was a terrible excuse. She would have to think of an excuse tomorrow.

_I should probably tell them I'm not coming in to work tomorrow._

She hurriedly scribbled a note and attached it to her owl, to send to Harry and Ron at the ministry, telling them she wasn't well.

She pulled her covers over herself, closing her eyes tightly and hoping she had taken enough calming drought to keep the nightmares away. Her mind shut down once more as her aching body attempted to start its journey to recovery.

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**A/N**

**Review away! Hope you liked it, **

**Airborne Kites ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Draco frowned as she checked the time. She was late.

'Potter!' he called out. 'Where's Granger?'

'She's sick Malfoy. Not coming in today.'

'Thanks for letting me know _before _I came in,' he said dryly.

'You're welcome!' shouted Potter with a grin on his face.

He stood up from his desk and started gathering his things. Honestly, if they had just told him earlier then he wouldn't have had to even come in today. Today was case working, and seeing as his partner couldn't make it, he could have taken the day off. But of course, Potter wouldn't make anything convenient especially for him. Old rivalry didn't die easily. And with that thought, he disapparated out of the Ministry.

He appeared in his Manor with a _crack, _and immediately his house elf came and took his cloak and papers. He headed to the parlour, where his mother was undoubtedly organising some charity event or another.

'Mother?'

'Draco? I thought you had gone to work.'

'I did, but I'm back.' He said as he entered the parlour. His mother looked up at him with a smile.

'I can see. But why?'

'You'd think you would be pleased, Mother.' he told her with a smirk.

'Just tell me why you're here.'

'Granger's away.'

'Oh. Is she alright?'

'She's unwell.'

Narcissa clucked in sympathy.

'Poor thing.'

'I'm quite glad that I don't have to face her today. I'm really not in the mood to bicker.'

'Draco!' the blonde witch admonished. 'She's unwell! Where're your manners?' She hit him lightly around the head with her Witch Weekly copy.

'Ow! I'm not glad she's ill, I'm just saying that I don't adore talking to her.'

'You've been working as her partner for _two years. _And every time I've seen her, she's been nothing but polite and mature. You, on the other hand, just do not grow up.'

'I've grown up! We haven't killed each other yet, have we?'

'Stop over-exaggerating. You know that you get along perfectly fine with her. You just like to dramatise everything, the drama queen that you are.'

Draco looked at his mother in surprise. Had she just called him a drama queen?

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**HPOV**

She awoke in cold sweat the next morning, shaking from head to toe.

She was slowly standing up again when the doorbell rang. She froze in horror. What if it was Nott? Grabbing her emergency wand, she hobbled over to the door and checked through her peephole. Standing outside, was the friendly old muggle postman, who delivered Hermione's muggle post. He was frowning slightly, waiting for her to open the door. She wanted to open it, but she was afraid. Afraid that he would turn out to be Nott and torture her.

She stood at her door, but she couldn't bring herself to open it. She was too wary. Eventually he just left, leaving a note saying where she could collect her parcel. She expelled a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. _What was happening to her?_

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**A/N  
**

**The chapters get longer after this, I assure you. **

**Leave a review!**

**AK**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Hermione knew she could not avoid work any longer. She hadn't been in for two days, and Harry and Ron would start getting worried. He was so protective of her, in a sweet, brotherly way. She was so glad that nothing had come between them after their relationship hadn't worked out. He was still the lovely, carefree Ron she had always known and loved.

She walked over to her fireplace and threw in some floo powder. 'Auror offices, Ministry of Magic!'

After a brief moment of whirling through the floo network, she stepped out into the ministry and began dusting off soot from her cloak.

'Hermione!' she heard Harry and Ron shout in unison. She turned towards the shouts to see them walking towards her. Suddenly she was engulfed in a huge hug from her two best friends. She immediately felt comforted. She loved them so much.

Which was why she couldn't tell them. She almost sighed out loud. Knowing them, they would go on some rash, dangerous mission to hunt down Nott, who would undoubtedly be waiting to kill them.

'How're you feeling?' Ron asked with a concerned expression.

'Better.' She replied with a smile.

'Honestly Hermione. You can't just go around getting the flu! Me and Ron need you in the office!' Harry exclaimed.

'Oh I am _so _sorry Harry. Next time I'm unwell I'll try to be more considerate of your needs.'

'Yeah, you'd better be.' he told her with a grin.

She already felt much happier. No one else made her feel as comfortable as they did. They knew her so well.

The three of them began walking to the Auror offices. Recently, they had changed the Auror department, so that they no longer had cramped little cubicles, but small offices. Suddenly Ron groaned, realising something.

'Oh shoot. Hermione's back, so Malfoy's back too. Damn.'

'Gee, thanks for being so happy I'm back, Ron.'

He gave her a cheeky grin in response.

'Eh well. It's not as bad for us as it is for Hermione here. She actually has to work with the git,' Harry added.

'Guys, he's not a _complete_ nightmare. He's managed to be half-civil, which is more than I'd hoped. He's still an idiot though, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't annoy him, or he might become his Hogwarts self again.'

'Granger.'

They turned around together upon hearing the voice of none other than Draco Malfoy himself.

'Speak of the devil, and the devil appears,' muttered Ron. Hermione elbowed him, trying to get him to shut up.

'Yes, Malfoy?' she replied, hoping he hadn't heard Ron's comment.

'We need to talk about the work you've missed. Come see me in my office when you're ready.' And with that, he turned around and walked away.

'Who the hell does he think he is?' asked Harry incredulously.

'It's not who he _thinks _he is Harry, it's who he _knows _he is. A Malfoy.' Hermione replied with a sigh. 'I guess I'll see you at lunch then guys. Bye!'

She walked over to her desk and picked up the files she needed for her talk with Malfoy. They were partnered in their third assignment this year. This time they were pin-pointing where any remaining Death Eaters would be hiding out. So far, in two months, they had captured three Death Eaters: McNair, Nott Sr and Crabbe Sr. They were making very good progress together. She shuddered when she saw the name Nott. She had been the one to find him.

As she collected her files she realised her fingers were shaking, and she needed to calm down before seeing Malfoy. After relaxing herself, and persuading herself that Nott wasn't about to show up at work, she walked to Malfoy's office door and knocked on it.

'Malfoy, it's me.' she called impatiently.

'Come in, Granger.'

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**DPOV**

'Come in, Granger.'

She walked in through the door. She seemed to be slightly nervous, but he had no idea why. Probably still feeling a bit under the weather. He decided to pay attention to his mother's sassy words and be almost _friendly._

'How're you feeling?'

She gave him an odd glance before replying.

'Better, thanks.'

Fine then. If she didn't think he should be nice, he was just going to wind her up like he usually did.

'I would've thought all that muggle blood would have made you immune to illnesses,' he grinned.

'Can we just get to work, Malfoy?' she snapped.

He raised his eyebrow at her angry tone. She hadn't even said some smartarse comeback.

'Of course, Granger. I'm just joking.

'Well it's not a very funny joke.'

He mentioned nothing more on the subject, slightly taken aback by her serious response. Usually she either ignored him or said something rude straight back at him. He stood up and waved his wand towards the white wall. A projected map appeared, pinpointing possible locations of remaining deatheaters.

'About last week's idea about the other departments, I've thought of some of the departments we might need.'

'I thought of a few too. I was thinking maybe for the international possibilities, we might need to ask the Department of International Magical Cooperation, to see if they can agree to involve other countries in the search.'

'Yeah, I was thinking of asking them too.'

'Did you think of any others?'

'Perhaps we could ask the new department? The ones who are working on tracing dark magic?'

'Malfoy, they're still working on it. They haven't come up with a lot yet.'

'We can still talk to them.'

'Fine, whatever. When should we arrange a meeting?'

'Tomorrow? Just after lunch, maybe?'

'Yeah, that'd be good. Send out memos, will you?'

'Why can't you?'

'Because I'mbusy.'

'So am I!'

He loved annoying her.

'Well people like _me _shouldn't have to work when there are people like _you.'_

'People like me?' she asked with her eyes blazing.

This opportunity was too good to miss. He didn't usually say this, but seeing as she was so irritable today…

'Mudbloods,' he said in a song-song voice with a smirk.

However, he didn't get the angry response he wanted. Instead, much to his surprise, she seemed to flinch at the word, squeezing her eyes shut. She took shaky breaths and began to leave his office, muttering something to herself.

He sat in shock, wondering why the word mudblood had triggered such a reaction from her. His auror instincts kicked in

'Granger? Granger listen. Listen to me.'

'Don't touch me! Stay away or- or-' she said no more, but carried on trying to leave.

Draco had never been so glad that he always had a silencing charm on his office, or Potter and Weasel would've come and killed him by now.

'Granger! Calm down.' He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down.

'Leave me alone!' she screamed at him.

Reaching to the side, he pulled out a potion from the bottom drawer of his desk. Calming draught. Despite her struggles he managed to force it down her throat, and the effects were almost immediate. She soon stopped the shuddering, and sat, subdued, against his desk.

'What just happened?'

'Leave me alone.'

'No.'

'Please.'

'Granger, tell me.'

'I'm not telling you.'

'_Please _tell me Granger.'

'No.'

'Look, whatever it was, I can help.'

'You called me mudblood. Doesn't make you look like someone who wants to _help,' _she raised her head and glared at him.

Draco realised that maybe apologising was the best thing to do in this situation. The thing was, he didn't apologise to people very often.

'I'm sorry. But in my defence, you don't usually react like that.'

She said nothing.

'Fine, don't tell me. I'll go get Potter and Weasley then.' He stood up, about to floo Potter.

'No! Don't do that!'

He looked at her in surprise at her sudden outburst.

'You can't tell them!' She looked slightly frantic.

'Why not?'

'You can't. You just can't. Please.'

He tried to understand the whole situation. If she wasn't going to tell her, he was going to work it out himself.

The odd reaction had been triggered by the word _mudblood. _He had used it before on her at work, and never encountered this reaction before. Had she had a bad experience with that word in recent weeks?

'What're you doing, Malfoy?'

Granger had obviously become wary by his sudden silence.

'I'm trying to work something out. Here, have some water.'

He summoned a bottle of water, before returning to his train of thoughts, ignoring Granger, who was staring at him.

It was the word itself which had triggered the reaction, he was sure of it. _Don't touch me, _she had said. These were very often the words of a victim reliving an attack when a memory was triggered.

So was she a victim? Of a recent attack? He was sure he had gotten the right idea. He hadn't passed auror training for no reason.

'Granger, where were you yesterday?'

She locked eyes with him. 'I was unwell, Malfoy.'

'Are you sure? Just unwell?'

'I'm sure.'

'I'm an auror as you should probably know. Doing this is my job. And I've worked with you long enough to know that you're not telling the truth. So what's happened to you in these past few days? Did you revisit your penseive and bring up memories of Bellatrix? Were you attacked? Was someone you know attacked?'

'I was ill! There's nothing more to it!'

He raised his eyebrows and crouched down next to her, looking her in the eye. 'If you don't tell me right now, I am going to go get Potter and Weasley.'

She pursed her lips, shaking her head. 'Malfoy, nothing happened. Just leave it, won't you?'

'If nothing had happened, would you be sitting on my floor with calming draught running through your veins? Would you have had a _panic attack _at a mere insult?'

Again, she said nothing. 'Why can't you just leave it, Malfoy?'

'I am an auror and I am trying to do my job. If whatever has happened is a threat to people, I need to _know_.'

'I'll take care of it. I'm an auror too.'

'Well obviously that hasn't done you any good.'

'Leave it, Malfoy.'

'What if this affects other people? Are you willing to take that risk?'

'No one else will get hurt.'

No one _else._ Her use of the word else meant that obviously, someone had been hurt. And that someone, judging by her reaction to a simple insult, had been her.

'Look. If you've been attacked, I need to know. If not for the safety of other people, for your own safety.'

'What makes you think I've been attacked?'

He let out a frustrated groan, stood up from his crouch and hit the wall. Why wasn't he getting anywhere with this?

'Come on, Granger! You've been through the same training as me! And right now, my training is telling me that you've been attacked. So tell me, then, why won't you allow me to help secure your safety, _and _the safety of others?'

She closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. 'They think I'm dead.'

'Wait, what?' This had taken a more serious turn. If her attacker thought that she was dead, the attack had to have been severe enough to kill.

'Tell me everything. This is serious.'

She decided not to respond.

He sighed. They weren't going to get anywhere. Then he realised that Granger was an utter mess, sitting on the floor of his office, and sighed again.

'Come on, Granger.'

'Where?'

'Your apartment.' And with that, he picked her up, turned on the spot, and apparated away before she could protest.

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**A/N **

**I'll be uploading the next chapter soon, depending on how many people read the story... Expect more Dramione!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**Hey! I just wanted to say thanks to the people who've reviewed since I posted the story last night, I was so happy when I read the first one :D  
**

**So that's a thanks to three people who reviewed first, Guest (lol sorry I have no other way to address you), Delena-Fan-for-life, and Writer0906!**

**So keep reviewing guys!**

**Love, Airborne Kites:)**

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Chapter 5

**DPOV**

Draco landed in an empty dark space. _Where the hell am I?_

'Granger? Where are we? _Lumos._'

He looked down through the wandlight to see that Hermione squinting through the wandlight.

'Malfoy, that's hurting my eyes.'

He moved the wand away.

'Where in the name of Merlin are we?'

'In my ward space.'

'What?'

'I have wards around my flat, so anyone who apparates here without my consent gets sent here.'

'You couldn't have told me before? And how come I didn't have your _consent?_'

'You apparated before I could say anything. So I couldn't have told you, and so I hadn't agreed, and so the wards didn't let you in.

'Well now what do we do?'

'We apparate again. But this time, I have to bring you side-along, because even if I give my consent now, we can't get in because the wards have been alerted to suspicious circumstances.'

'No way. You're too weak for that. You'll splinch us. How do you give your consent?'

'I- uh- I can't remember.'

'Oh come _on.'_

'Sorry, but I hardly expected to be apparated to my own apartment without my consent,' she replied sarcastically.

There was a moment of silence before she began wriggling.

'Will you stop moving?'

'I am perfectly capable of standing. Put me down.'

'I don't think you are.'

'I need my wand. It is in my pocket. In order to get to my pocket, I will need to stand up. Good enough reason to put me down?

Deciding there was no point in arguing, he put her down slowly. She managed to get her wand out of her robes eventually, and held it up.

'_Intrandum__._'

Suddenly they appeared in a living room. Malfoy walked over to the couch and put Hermione down.

'Granger, set the wards so that I can get in if I need to.'

'Why?'

'Oh for Salazar's sake, why do I have to explain everything to you? _You _have been attacked. I am your auror partner. If you are in need of help at any time, I will then be able to enter without any issues.

She looked doubtful. 'These are the wards to my _home._ I can't just trust you with them.'

He sighed. 'If I wanted to kill you I would've done it ages ago. I think you can trust me.'

After a moment, she muttered 'fair point,' and lifted her wand. Using an elaborate wrist flick and hand action, she muttered an enchantment over him with an unhappy look on her face.

As soon as she said the words, a golden light encircled his body.

'There. You can come in now, but that doesn't mean you can just pop round whenever you feel like it.'

'I wasn't going to do that, Granger. Now, please tell me what happened.'

'No.'

'Granger.'

'Malfoy.'

'Tell me.'

'I can't.'

'Why not?'

'I don't want to.'

'I won't tell anyone. I'ts confidential. And I can help.

'I still don't want to tell you.'

'Why?'

'I don't know.'

'Fine, forget it. Just don't go anywhere without someone.'

'I don't need a bodyguard!'

'Chances are, if they find out you're alive, they'll come for you again, Granger.'

Hermione shuddered.

'Can they get through my wards?'

'I doubt it.'

'But there is a chance.'

'There's always a chance. Maybe I should stay with you for a while.'

'I don't need you to protect me.'

'Not usually, you don't. Right now, you do.'

She began to protest, and he sighed in exasperation. 'Don't argue. If you argue, I'll tell the whole department, and then you'll have to go through questioning and penseive evidence and everyone will talk about it.

She narrowed her eyes, looking incredulous and angry. 'Fine.'

He stood up, and walked over to the kitchen.

'Where are you going?'

'I'm going to your potions cabinet and getting you some more calming draught.'

'Why? I'm fine! I just took some I your office!'

'How recently were you attacked?'

No answer.

'Just tell me, for Merlin's sake.'

'Two days,' she replied eventually, frowning at him.

'There we go. After a victim is attacked, I'm sure you know that we give them regular decreasing dosage of calming draught in order to ease them back into their lives and make sure the worst nights at the start can be avoided. Plus, the dosage I gave you in my office was tiny. It's already worn off.' He brought over the dose and motioned for her to drink it, and she did.

'Thank you.'

'My pleasure.' he said, mock bowing. 'Now, I have to go grab some things from the manor. Will you be alright?'

She sighed. 'I've been fine for two days without you. I think I can handle a few minutes.'

He apparated straight to his bedroom, summoning the things he would need. It took him barely five minutes, and that still gave plenty of time for the sleeping draught he had sneakily given to her to kick in.

With a _crack_, he appeared back in her living room, and sure enough, she was asleep. No matter how much she denied anything, she was a victim. And as an auror, Draco Malfoy knew the procedures he had to go through to help her.

After sending his things to the guest bedroom, he walked over to her and lifted her off the sofa, before carrying her to her bedroom. As he pulled her covers around her, she cracked her eyes open, and mumbled a thank-you sleepily.

He left the room with no reply; he just nodded, even though he knew she hadn't seen it.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

**Hey guys! I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of exciting content, but I promise that the next one will be more exciting.**

**Just so you know, I've changed chapter 3 and 4 slightly. They're only small tweaks, about Draco and Hermione's views on each other. I changed Draco's view on muggleborns, because my sister made me realise that he was suddenly being too nice to Hermione, if he had claimed to hate people like her. I changed his view, so he doesn't hate them:)**

**Finally, I'd just like to say WOW. This is my first fanfic ever, and I've already got 15 followers! In three days! Thanks so much guys:D**

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Chapter 6

Draco POV

Someone screamed, disrupting his sleep. He dug his head deeper into his pillow, trying to block the sound out.

They screamed again. _Who the bloody hell was screaming at this time in the manor?_ He opened his eyes. _Wait a minute. _He looked around._ I'm not in the manor. _Then he realised where he was, and who was screaming their head off._ Shit! Granger!_

He jumped out of bed, grabbed his wand and ran straight over to Granger's room. She was squirming in her bed, but there was no one attacking her. She was screaming at a nightmare. He walked over to her.

'Granger! Wake up!'

No response. Just more screaming. He shook her lightly by her shoulders.

'Wake up, Granger. No one's attacking you.'

She opened her eyes and saw him standing next to her. Her current scream died out, but she carried on whimpering. He sat next to her on the bed.

'It's alright. There's no one else here.'

'Are you sure?' she asked him in a frightened whisper.

'I'm sure.'

'Okay.'

'You can go back to sleep now. We have a meeting tomorrow, remember?'

'Okay.'

'Hang on a minute. Let me fetch something.'

He walked over to his bedroom and grabbed a vial from one of his bags, before returning to her room.

'Here you go.'

'What's that?'

'Dreamless sleep potion. Open up.'

She opened her mouth slightly and he poured a drop into it.

'There we go. Sleep tight, Granger.'

'Okay.'

She fell asleep almost instantly. He sat with her for a while, until he was sure she was sleeping peacefully. Then he got up, walked back to his own bed, and promptly fell asleep.

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Hermione POV

Hermione woke up feeling extremely peaceful. She hadn't slept this well in days! She hummed while she got ready for work, and almost skipped to the kitchen.

'Well, Granger. We're in a happy mood today!'

She stopped humming and turned around to see Malfoy walking behind her. Suddenly, a hazy memory appeared in her mind. Malfoy comforting her. Malfoy giving her a potion. Malfoy sitting with her until she fell asleep.

'Malfoy?'

He gave her a strange look, before replying.

'Yes, that's me.'

'Did you come to my room last night?'

'Yes.'

'Oh. Well thanks. Again.'

'You're welcome, Granger. What's for breakfast?'

'That was a sudden change of topic.'

'I know.'

'Oh, right. God forbid you should ever admit to being _nice _to me.' she grinned.

'Granger.'

'Fine. Breakfast is whatever is in the fridge.'

'What in Merlin's name is a _fridge_?'

Hermione sighed. The wizarding world could be so ignorant sometimes.

'It's a muggle thing which keeps your food cold, so it stays fresh.'

'Why can't you just use a cooling charm?'

'Because it's much easier to put things straight in there instead of worrying about charms. Now go open it and find something to eat.'

Malfoy walked over to the fridge while she took out some cereal from the cupboard.

'Granger?'

'Yes?'

'How do you open this thing?'

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Hermione was still laughing when they reached work. Malfoy scowled.

'It really wasn't that funny.'

'It really was.'

'How?'

'You couldn't open the fridge!'

His scowl deepened.

'So?'

'It was just _funny, _Malfoy. Don't get your knickers in a twist,' she grinned. 'I'll see you in a while. I'm going to go talk to Harry and Ron.'

Still chuckling slightly, she walked over to Harry's office and let herself in.

'Hermione! Where did you go yesterday? We couldn't find you at lunch!'

'Oh, I didn't feel very well.'

'You should've let us know!'

'Yeah, I know, but I fell asleep as soon as I got home.'

'Oh. Feeling better then?'

'Yeah, think so. Listen, I've got a meeting after lunch which I have to prepare for, so I won't be able to have lunch with you and Ron.'

'Alright. Oh, wait. Ron will probably want to see you after your disappearance yesterday.'

He took a post-it from his desk, and scribbled a quick message on it. After a tap of his wand, it folded up into an aeroplane and zoomed off, out the door.

'Harry! You are so lazy! His office is literally ten metres away!'

'Why bother when you have magic?'

'I would expect you, of all-'

Harry was saved by Ron entering the office.

'Hermione!'

'Hi Ron!'

'Where'd you go yesterday?'

'Home. I wasn't feeling very well.'

'Better now?'

'Yeah.'

'Sure?'

'Stop worrying, Ron. I can practically see the worry lines on your forehead.'

Harry stood by, watching them with amusement.

'I still don't see why you aren't a married old couple with grandkids.'

'Well, I don't see why you're still ugly as hell.' Ron retorted with a smirk.

'I have to go now guys,' Hermione interrupted their bickering. 'I'll see you around!'

She left them with a small wave, and quickly walked over to Malfoy's office.

'Malfoy, I'm coming in.'

She opened the door and walked in, ignoring Malfoy's annoyed glare.

'I didn't say you could come in.'

'Well I came in anyway. We need to prepare for the meeting.'

'It's in four hours!' he replied incredulously.

'We still need to prepare.'

'Prepare what?!'

'What we need to say.'

'All we need to do is ask them about their opinions on how they should help with the project.'

'And other stuff.'

'There is no other stuff.'

'Yes there is.'

'No there bloody well isn't.'

'Yes there bloody well is.'

'Granger. All we need to do, is to ask them to join us. Maybe we have to talk about funding a little. That is _it_.'

'Fine! I'll do what you say, and we'll see how the meeting turns out, okay? It's going to be crap.'

And she stalked out, leaving an amused Malfoy behind her.

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**A/N Don't forget to review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Nothing really happens in this chapter, except for a slight cliffie at the end, but I'm working on the next chapter! This chapter just needed to be here as a filler. I'd just like to warn you I have a LOT of tests in school right now, so I'm going to try and write a few chapters now and upload them one by one over the weeks, so you don't have to wait too long for each chapter. **

**As usual, thanks to everyone reading this, and please review!**

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Chapter 7

Draco stood up from his desk, fifteen minutes before the meeting. _Better get ready now._ He walked out of his office, and walked straight into Hermione's like she had done earlier. Ignoring her glare, just like she had done earlier.

'Malfoy. I didn't let you in.'

'I didn't let you in earlier.'

'Well, I told you I was coming. You could've at least knocked.'

'I didn't want to.'

She sighed at him, for the second time that day.

'Malfoy, why are you here.'

'The meeting's in a quarter of an hour.'

She arched an eyebrow.

'So?'

'We need to prepare.'

She smirked.

'Prepare _what, _Malfoy?'

'The meeting. Obviously.'

'I didn't think you needed my help.'

He was getting irritated now.

'Granger. I said I didn't need your help four hours before the meeting. Now it's in fifteen minutes. _Now _we can get ready for it.'

'I told you. I'm. Not. Helping. You. I told you four hours ago, and I'm saying it again. I've decided on what I will say, do, and talk about. If you're not organised, it's not my problem.'

Draco was stuck. He had never actually organised a meeting before, Granger had done it all.

'Grang-'

'It's quite clear, Malfoy.'

'Granger.'

'What do you want _now_?'

He braced himself for the bout of humiliation that was about to eat him whole.

'I, um, don't actually know how to organise a meeting.'

She looked at him in shock, and then she smirked.

'You actually admitted it?'

'Yes.' He said, trying to keep his face impassive.

'You don't know how?'

'I don't.'

'And you need my help?'

He cringed as he replied, 'I do need your help.'

He had never felt so humiliated.

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**Hermione POV**

Hermione stood in front of her office mirror, examining her appearance two minutes before the meeting. She was wearing dark blue robes with the Auror crest on them. Her hair was tied up into a smart ponytail, and she wore practical black slip-ons from the muggle world. She looked ready for an informal meeting between departments.

_I should go to the meeting room now. _

She left her office and began walking over to the small conference room, designed for small meetings.

'Malfoy, I'm here.'

He came into view as she walked in, standing by the long table.

'Granger.'

'Yes?'

'I would like to say thanks,' he said in a slightly stiff.

She looked at him for a moment. He was always so proper, being raised in a pure-blood household. Suddenly she realised that this was a perfect chance to humiliate him further. She smirked at him.

'For what, Malfoy?' she asked sweetly.

He groaned.

'Please don't make this hard, Granger. You know full well what I'm thanking you for.'

She gave in at the pained look on his face, and began laughing.

'Merlin, Malfoy, why do you always need to make life harder for yourself. You really don't need to formally say thank you.'

'It's only proper,' he muttered.

A moment later, he spoke again.

'To be fair though, there really wasn't much to organise. All we had to do was set out chairs and set out glasses of water. Definitely not worth four hours of preparation.'

She rolled her eyes, not wanting to agree even though he may have been right.

Their conversation was interrupted by a small, portly woman, and a tall sandy haired man entering the open conference room door. They were wearing robes with crests from the Department of International Magical Co-operation.

They had decided to invite three departments: The department of law enforcement (the improper use of magic office), the department of International Magical Co-operation, and the new department which didn't actually have a name yet. They looked into dark arts.

Hermione immediately walked over to greet them.

'Hello, I'm Hermione,' she said while shaking the woman's hand.

'Good afternoon, Miss Granger. I'm Penny Nutt, Department of International Magical Co-operation.'

'Pleasure to meet you.'

She then shook hands with the man.

'Hello, Miss Granger. I'm Andrew Borage.'

'Pleasure to meet you too. And call me Hermione.'

She stepped back as Malfoy greeted them in a polite, proper and professional way. _He would make a good businessman, _she mused.

'Please, sit down,' she gestured at the table.

'Help yourself to snacks.' Malfoy added as plates of Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron cakes appeared. She allowed herself a private smug smile. They had been her idea.

Next came Mafalda Hopkirk, from the Improper Use of Magic office. They both greeted her accordingly, and she too, sat down. Soon Mafalda, Penny, and Andrew were chatting amiably.

A minute later, someone came in, panting slightly, and apologising for being late. It was Mandy Brocklehurst, from the new department. She had been in Ravenclaw while Hermione had been in Hogwarts, a year above her.

'Don't worry, Mandy. Why don't you take a seat and catch your breath,' she told her kindly.

'Yes, thanks Hermione. My colleague will be here shortly, I think he's running slightly late.'

'Alright, well, we'll get started now, and they can come in during the explanation.'

They all nodded, and there were a few murmurs of assent. Hermione walked across the room and softly closed the door.

Malfoy cleared his throat and stood up.

'As you know, we've been finding any remaining Death Eaters around the country, since the war. We have managed to find a fair few so far, but the few that are left will be hardest to find. We would like to involve your different departments in our search. We'll talk to each of you separately, concerning your department, and then we can discuss ministry funding and the likes. Although we could request inter-departmental aid through the minister himself, it would be much easier we agreed together without having to go through the appeal process, and then just inform him of our plans, which he will probably agree to. We were wondering whether you would be willing to ask your department heads to join.'

He looked at the four people sitting in front of him. The first to speak was Penny.

'I imagine our department should be fine with it. As a spokes-person, I can't decide for the whole department, but I will agree to talk to the senior members and tell them that I agree.'

Andrew nodded in agreement.

Mafalda was just about to speak when they heard hurried footsteps coming near.

'I imagine that should be my colleague,' said Mandy, looking towards the door. They all turned towards the door, waiting to welcome the new member.

It soon burst open, followed by a relieved exclamation on Mandy's part, a look of pleasant surprize on Draco's, and a look of horror on Hermione's. The person walking hurriedly into the room was none other than Theodore Nott.

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**Like? Don't like? Leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

**Hey! This is a REALLY short chapter. It doesn't even count as a chapter. But it had to be on it's own, sorry. I'm uploading Chapter 9 right now too though so don't worry, you do get to read an actual chapter...**

**Review!**

**AK xx**

Chapter 8

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Hermione stood in shock as he walked into the room. He walked over to them, apologising for being late.

'Theo! I didn't know it was you working in the new department! Have a seat!' Malfoy exclaimed.

Nott came over and shook hands with everyone there except for Hermione, who was successfully managing to blend in at the edge of the table. It was going well until Malfoy saw her and decided to introduce her.

'Granger, come over here! Theo, remember Granger?'

Nott turned around with a surprised look which was hidden in a split second.

'Of course. It's been a while, Granger.'

He shook her hand, and she almost collapsed then and there. But she knew she couldn't. She couldn't be weak when she had to run away. She could see the anger and curiosity burning behind his eyes. She had to get out. Now.

'Malfoy, I, uh, excuse me.'

And she walked out, using all her willpower to not break into a run before she left the conference room. Once she was out though, she ran like the wind. She had to be far away from him. Somewhere where he couldn't find her. It was all she could think as she ran: _Have to get away. Have to._ Her heart was pounding in her ears as she ran down two flights of emergency stairs, hyperventilating.

Soon, she couldn't run any more. She had to collapse. There was no one in this dark, empty basement corridor. He wouldn't look for her here. She sat down on the cold floor, sobs wracking her body. She hadn't even realised she was crying.

He would find her here. He would torture her again. He would probably kill her this time. These thoughts were circling her head like vultures, constantly pecking at her brain.

_How has it come to this? _she thought to herself. She was Hermione Granger, for Merlin's sake! She was a strong woman, who had gone through so much. She was never afraid. So why was she so afraid now? She felt weak, being so scared of him. She hated feeling weak. But the thing was, she couldn't do anything about it. All she was capable of doing now was being afraid, collapsing, and crying.

She hated him for reducing her to this. She hated him with every fibre of her terrified being.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N  
**

**Here's the ACTUAL chapter guys...**

**Can I just say a huuuuge thanks to everyone who's reviewed, followed, and favourited this story. I wouldn't keep writing if you didn't! And please, if you read ANY spelling mistakes or missing full stops, please tell me, because I sometimes don't notice them. And they really annoy me when I do see the. **

**Also, I might not be updating in the next two weeks, I have exams. But I'll upload extra in half term!  
**

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Chapter 9

Draco was quite happy to know he'd be working with Theo for the next few months. After all, he was quite a close friend, and someone he fully trusted. It would be great to have a few more laughs in the office. They definitely needed some more Slytherins in there. He had spent enough time with only Granger to talk to at work.

Where was she anyway? She had vanished quite abruptly after Theo had appeared. Typical Gryffindor behaviour. Run away when Slytherins got involved. He decided to go to her office to talk to her about the new deal. And, of course, irritate her about running away from the new Slytherin she had to work with.

He barged in with a smug look, only to see that the chair was empty. Huh. Probably in Potter's office.

'Potter!' he shouted as he walked through the hallway.

He walked into Potter's office and looked around. She wasn't here either.

'Malfoy? What the hell are you doing in here?'

'Where's Granger?'

'I thought she was in a meeting with you.'

'Yeah, she was. But then she vanished.'

'Hermione doesn't just _vanish._'

'Well, she has!'

'Malfoy, leave her alone. She doesn't need you following her every move.'

After leaving Potter's office, he walked briskly back to his own. _Maybe she went back to her apartment. Should I check? _

He debated with himself for a few moments before deciding that he would check there. After a second of being squeezed unpleasantly, he arrived in the lounge. She wasn't in there.

'Granger!'

No answer. He walked through the rooms, still calling her name. Still no answer. Suddenly a thought struck him. What if her torturer had found her? _SHIT._ How was he supposed to find her? Where could she be?

Draco began worrying as he thought of all the things that could've happened to her. He was meant to be keeping her _safe_. He exhaled deeply, pushing his hand through his hair. _Stay calm. _He had to think of ways he could find her.

An idea appeared in his mind. If he sent her a patronus, he could follow it and see where it went! Why had no one in the wizarding world ever thought of that? Honestly. It would've been so easy to find dark wizards. But then again, then the dark wizards would know if someone was looking for them. What if Granger's torturer was still with her? They'd see the patronus. But it was the only way he could find her.

_Come on, Draco. Think of a better way._

An owl, perhaps? No. Then he'd be risking the life of the owl.

Maybe he could try one of those private patronuses? They could only be seen by the person they were meant for. He could give it a try.

_'Expecto Patronum!'_

A silver dragon flew majestically from his wand tip, soaring into the air. It wasn't the size a real dragon would be, but still around the same size as Draco, only slightly smaller.

He sent a message to Granger saying he was coming, and with a flick of his wand, the patronus began flying away, and vanished into thin air. Damn. He summoned his broom, mounted it, and sent another Patronus, this time without a message. This one vanished after thirty seconds. He kept casting Patronus after Patronus, following their direction.

After a few minutes of high speed flying, he ended up at the Ministry. _What? Granger's at the Ministry?_ But she hadn't been there when he had looked! Maybe he was overreacting. Or maybe she was somewhere he hadn't thought to look.

He cast a disillusionment charm on himself and his broom as he flew through the atrium, over the heads of unsuspecting ministry officials.

He flew after his latest Patronus, following it down to some stairs that hadn't been used in years. It vanished, so he cast another one, following it swiftly down two flights of stairs. He kept casting them as they lead him deeper and deeper underground.

He was beginning to doubt his Patronus. It was dark and empty down here, and just as he was sure they couldn't go any deeper, it leapt down another flight of stairs, which he warily followed.

A small noise was heard. He stopped and listened intently. Another one.

'_Lumos!' _

Light erupted from his wand tip. Someone suddenly began sobbing hard, and mumbling something. He looked through the light to see Granger huddled by a wall a few metres away.

Relief swept through him. She was alive. He hurried to her shaking form.

'Granger,' he said, relieved.

'Leave me alone, please! Don't torture me again! Leave me alone!' she whispered at him, scooting away.

'I'm not going to hurt you. It's me. Malfoy.'

At his voice, she slowly looked up at him, but carried on shaking with sobs. He sat down next to her.

'Did they find you again?'

She shook her head through her sobs._ What? _Why was she down here if no one had hurt her?

'So why're you here?'

She shook her head again, and carried on sobbing. He decided he wouldn't ask her any more questions right now, as she was obviously in no state to answer them. He simply sat with her, and put his arm around her shaking form.

'It's alright, Granger. No one's going to hurt you.'

She didn't say anything. She just took his support and leant against him, still shaking.

'We should go now.'

No response. He stood up, and pulled her weak form with him. Then he placed one hand under her knee, the other behind her back, and lifted her up. She burrowed her head into his chest as he walked over to his broom.

He decided that he would fly with her in front, where he could hold onto her so she wouldn't fall. Trying to keep her supported in his arms, he lifted his right arm slightly, and the broom jumped up towards him.

Slowly, he lifted one of his legs and sat on the broom. Then he managed to move Granger into a sitting position in front of him, leaning her back on his chest. She instantly turned around slightly to cry into his arm. After making sure she wasn't going to fall off, secure in his arms, he cast a disillusionment charm on himself, her, and the broom.

_Time to get home, _he thought as he took off.

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**A/N**

**Awww. Don't you just love Draco?**

**Leave a review pleeeeaaase :)  
**

**Airborne Kites;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

**Hi! I'm back from my exam break! This is the chapter where Draco begins to realise his feelings! Yay! Otherwise, it doesn't have much stuff going on but I'm gonna try and upload another one in the next few days, so yeah. **

**Let me know if you see any grammatical errors, and please review!**

* * *

Chapter 10

He couldn't disapparate straight out of the ministry, or the disapparition monitors would see that he was leaving with Granger. And if Potter and Weasley were in charge of monitors today, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. So he flew straight to the exit, holding an already sleeping Granger in front of him. He was trying as hard as he could to hold her securely. It was quite a task though, because she kept twisting and turning in his arms while he was trying to stay high above everyone.

As soon as they landed outside, he spun on the spot and disapparated to the apartment, holding the Granger and the broom tightly,

Draco appeared in the living room, losing his balance slightly with the way his arms were wrapped around Granger. She was moving even more now, after the uncomfortable sensation of apparating. She was also mumbling quietly. He let go of his broom and slowly lowered her onto her sofa, covering her with a blanket before going to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

'Granger. Open up.'

He managed to coax her mouth open, and sat her up slightly as he poured water into her mouth. After she finished the glass he gently lowered back into a comfortable sleeping position. Soon her mumbling stopped and her breathing evened out.

He sat on the floor next to the sofa, watching her. Making sure she was alright. He was worried about her. Obviously it was because she was his partner, and therefore it was natural for him to be this worried.

Suddenly she shuddered. Draco instantly stood up.

'Don't hurt me again.' she whispered.

'I'm not going to, Granger. It's me, Malfoy.' He tried to make her hear him. Let her know she was safe.

She didn't hear him.

'Please don't. Please Nott.'

Draco's blood ran cold. Nott? But they had captured the elder Nott. And it couldn't have been Theo. It just couldn't. He trusted Theo. He was his friend. No. Granger had said the wrong name. He had to ask her.

'Granger?'

She carried on murmuring Theo's last name. He knelt down next to her and gently shook her.

'Granger. Wake up.'

Her eyes opened a fraction, and she slowly sat up, curling her legs underneath her.

'Malfoy?'

He sat down on the sofa next to her.

'I found you collapsed in the ministry. In a deep, dark, unused corridor. What were you doing there?'

'Nothing.'

'Well it was evidently something.'

She didn't reply.

'Granger. Tell me. I'm here to help you. Were you attacked today again?'

She shook her head.

'Then why were you there?'

No reply.

'Fine. I just have to ask you something.'

She shrugged.

'Was your attacker Theo?'

She suddenly looked up at him, fear in her eyes.

'Theo? You call him Theo? You're friends? Oh Merlin, you're in it with him aren't you? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!' She began hyperventilating and attempted to get off the sofa, but she got herself tangled in the blanket.

'Let me go!' she screamed. She tried punching him but he caught her wrist before it hit her. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the wrist aiming for his stomach. He made a small grunt as she winded him, but carried on trying to pin her down. He should've known she was easily scared right now.

'Granger! Calm down! What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?!'

He finally succeeded in controlling her flailing limbs.

'Leave me alone! Don't hurt me! Please!' she cried out, sobbing.

'I'm not going to hurt you.' He told her reassuringly. He slowly got off the sofa and threw his wand to the other side of the room.

'See? Not going to hurt you.'

She seemed to slowly come to her senses, realising who he was.

'Granger. Tell me something.' This was a phrase he seemed to be saying quite a bit recently. 'Was your attacker Theodore Nott?'

She said nothing. He walked over and sat beside her on the sofa. She looked so weary. _Must be tired. Don't blame her, to be honest. _He had given up on waiting for a response when he saw a slight nod.

Draco couldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe it. He refused. Even if it explained her reaction to the name Theo, he still didn't believe it. It must've been another Theo.

'You must have seen wrong.'

'It was definitely him.' she said quietly.

'No. Theo wouldn't-'

She sighed. 'Look. If you don't want to believe me, don't. But I saw Th- Theodo- I saw him, okay?'

'No.'

'Look in a pensieve then.'

'Fine.'

Draco walked across the room, picked up his wand, and summoned Hermione's pensieve. The small basin came flying towards him. He was sure he would see someone else, who Granger had mistaken for Theo. He was sure of it.

She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled out a silvery strand from her temple.

'Here.' she whispered.

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**Next chapter coming soon! I'll try and make it long!**

**Until then,**

**AK ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Another chapter this week! I just had to give you another one because the last one was so short and hardly anything happened...**

**And I'm glad to say since I have no more exams and a few more days of holiday, I'll be writing away like mad! So maybe I'll get another chapter to you this week.**

**And finally, THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favourited this story. It makes me ridiculously happy. A huuuge thanks to those who have favourited or followed. I love you all!  
**

**Keep reviewing guys!**

**On with Chapter 11 then.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Draco was falling through the memory. He landed outside the menagerie, seeing Granger walking away from it. She suddenly turned around, only to be disarmed, and held from behind by Goyle. Draco wasn't shocked to see him there. He had never had the potential of being good. Or bright. Draco then turned to see who it was who had disarmed her.

Granger had been right. There stood Theo, smirking and holding her wand. Draco watched as Granger kicked Goyle and tried to get away, only to be grabbed by Theo again. Then he heard everything Theo said, but it didn't seem to register in his brain. All that registered was the shock of seeing his friend attacking someone innocent.

He watched curse after curse, unable to do anything about it.

Theo was a man Draco would have trusted with his _life_. One of his best friends. He watched as his friend grinned and tortured an innocent woman. Granger's breathing looked like it had stopped. Goyle checked for a pulse, stating to Theo he couldn't find one.

Draco couldn't think straight. Theo. It couldn't be Theo.

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**HPOV**

Hermione sat on the couch while she waited for Malfoy to come out of the memory. She didn't know what his reaction would be. Angry? Sad? Indifferent?

She was brought out of her worried thoughts by a reappearing Malfoy. He looked terrible.

'Malfoy?' she asked tentatively, 'You okay?'

He looked at her for a few moments with no expression. Then he asked her a question.

'How can you be sure it wasn't polyjuice?'

She smiled sadly at him, knowing that he knew full well what she was going to say.

'My penseive is an Auror penseive. It would detect signs of polyjuice and warn you. It would warn you of any signs of confundus and Imperius too. If it wasn't Nott, you would have been the first to know, Malfoy. You know that.'

'No.' he whispered before sinking to the floor.

He didn't cry. He didn't shout. He just shook his head with a blank expression on his face. Hermione watched him for a second before getting off the couch and walking over to him. She sat next to him on the floor and put an arm around him.

'Malfoy.'

He didn't acknowledge that she had spoken. She didn't try again. Instead she just sat with him, supporting him like he had done before.

'Granger.' he spoke suddenly.

'Yeah?'

'We should go tell the ministry.'

'No.'

He suddenly turned to look her in the eyes. She could see the anger in his grey eyes.

'Granger. They need to know. What he did was wrong, evil, and illegal if nothing else. You can't let him get away with this.'

'I know Malfoy.' she sighed. 'We will tell them, I promise. But you heard what he said. He said the Voldemort's army was still alive. Even if we capture him, they can still come after us. They'll get you too, after realising you helped turn him in.'

'But we bloody work with him now. I'll end up killing him at work!'

She sighed again, bringing her arm off his shoulders and turning to face him.

'I know. It's going to be hard, Malfoy, but we have to try.'

'But look what seeing him did to you yesterday! It's not healthy for you to be near him!'

'Yes, but we're Aurors. He's dangerous, and regardless of what he's done to me personally, I have to turn him in _with_ everyone he's working with. We can't leave dangerous criminals to roam free.'

It was his turn to sigh.

'I can't. I can't go to work and not kill the bastard.'

'Yes you can. And besides, you have to stay composed or I won't have anyone to rely on.'

He smiled slightly at that.

'I thought you didn't want to have to rely on me.'

'Shut up.'

He grinned, but then suddenly he was serious again.

'Are you sure you don't want to tell Potter and Weasley now? I'm sure they won't blow up.'

'I don't know.'

'I think you should.'

'I don't think I can. I don't want to put them in danger.'

'Fine.'

'Malfoy?'

'Yeah?'

'Won't the ministry think it's weird that we both missed half a working day?'

'Oh yeah… I'll just say I kidnapped you.'

She laughed at that.

'No, seriously. What's our cover then?'

'We saw something suspicious on our monitor and apparated right over to Diagon Alley to check it out.'

'Okay. That's a good back up.'

'I know it is. I'll send a patronus to tell them.'

After he sent it, she turned to him nervously.

'Do you think I'll be able to start acting fine around him? I can't look scared in front of him.'

He let out a wry laugh.

'I'm going to have to control myself from killing him, Granger. So you tell me.'

* * *

**A/N **

**Hope you liked it! See you soon (hopefully),**

**Airborne Kites :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

**Hey! Another chapter here! As usual, thanks to EVERYONE who reads, reviews, favourites, and follows. Please let me know if you see ANY errors, and also feel free to ask any questions. Enjoy the chapter!**

**[Disclaimer: Stuff you recognise belongs to the amazing J.K.R]**

* * *

Chapter 12

**NOTTPOV**

Granger. Alive. That filthy mudblood was still alive. He couldn't believe it. She didn't have the right to live, yet she was. Even after he had ensured her death. Yet she had cheated him. She hadn't bloody died.

But now he was coming for her. She would die. Her wand would be key in this adventure. And this time, there would be _no _mistake.

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**HPOV**

She woke up with a sore neck, leaning against something hard and warm. For a moment she was slightly confused, but then she realised what it was. Malfoy's shoulder. She turned her head up slightly to see his head leaning back slightly onto the sofa. He was going to have a very stiff neck too then.

The shoulder under her head felt very muscular.

After debating with herself for a while, she finally gave in to herself, and peaked down at his chest. His muscles looked quite defined through his shirt. She couldn't deny that. She felt a blush spreading across her cheeks as she realised what she was thinking. _Merlin forbid anyone should ever find out._

_Anyway. Time to get up. _

'Malfoy. Wake up.' she said while nudging him slightly.

'Hmm?'

'Wake up.'

He frowned in his sleep and tried to shift away,

'Malfoy! Get up!'

This time she wacked him on his arm. He awoke and glared at her groggily.

'What was that for?'

'You weren't waking up!'

'So?'

'So, you needed to wake up!'

'No I didn't! It's Saturday!'

'Oh yeah.'

They sat in silence while he glared stonily at her.

'Well at least go sleep on an actual bed. You'll just get very stiff joints sitting here.'

He looked confused for a minute before looking around and realising where they were.

'We fell asleep here?'

'Of course not. We just appeared here.' she replied sarcastically.

'You don't need to be so smart-arse about everything, Granger.'

She smirked at him.

'Yeah I do, Malfoy.'

'Shut up. I'm going to bed.'

And he got up and walked to his room, leaving Hermione to think in silence about the night before. Would she be able to cope, working with Nott? Surely not. How would she do it? And would Malfoy be able to control his emotions? All these questions. And no answer yet.

Suddenly Malfoy hurried into the living room.

'Malfoy? I thought you went to sleep?'

He looked worried and ignored her question.

'Granger. He's got your wand hasn't he?'

She nodded, feeling apprehensive of what he was going to say next.

He cursed under his breath.

'Come here.'

'Why?' she asked, feeling a bit surprised.

'Because there are a lot of things that a dark wizard can do with a wand. I would know. I need to put protection spells on you.'

She slowly stood up and walked towards him.

'I can't believe I didn't ask before yesterday.' he asked her, looking agitated.

'I thought you noticed!'

He sighed and raised his wand.

'Let's just hope he hasn't tried too much yet.'

And he began casting a number of odd spells on her without speaking, weaving intricate patterns around her. She instantly became curious.

'What is this?'

He looked up from his spell-casting to answer.

'Dark magic invented by dark wizards who didn't want other dark wizards to harm them.'

'Oh.'

She stayed silent after that, knowing he needed to concentrate.

Soon he flourished his wand one last time, making all the colours around her vanish. Except one purple strand around her torso.

Any colour he had drained from his face as he stared at the purple wisp of magic surrounding her.

She became very scared all of a sudden.

'What's wrong?' she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

He looked up from the strand of magic which slowly vanished.

'He's already cast some magic on you using your wand.'

She began panicking slightly. He noticed her expression and guided her to the sofa, where he sat her down and sat next to her.

'Don't panic. You're lucky he's only cast this one so far. It's not too dangerous yet. We can check what it's done so far and stop it.'

'How?'

'By checking the Malfoy library. I know it will have some reference to this.'

'But what does this magic do?'

'It can bring hallucinations or nightmares at controlled moments. So he could suddenly show you something terrifying and make you vulnerable to an attack.'

The blood drained from her face.

He read her face again and quickly reassured her.

'It's alright. We just need to find the references. But until then, just make sure you don't go anywhere alone, especially in the Ministry. And don't be afraid to tell me if you begin seeing more than the usual nightmare.'

She simply nodded, not saying a word as she looked at the floor, trying to keep her panic at bay.

He got off the sofa and crouched down so that he was looking into her eyes.

'Hey, Granger. Don't worry. You'll be fine.'

'No I won't.' she whispered. 'No I won't. I could tell you were scared when you saw it! It's dangerous Malfoy, and you know it. I can't cope with any more nightmares than usual. I can't!' her voice began breaking and she choked back a sob.

He was instantly next to her, his arm around her shoulder.

'Yes you can. Because you are Hermione Granger. You are a strong woman who doesn't let anyone bring you down. And you have me whenever you need me. I was only afraid because I know it means he knows about dark wand magic. But this is all he's done so far and we can stop it. Don't let someone like Nott reduce you to this.' he said in a firm tone.

Hermione suddenly felt much stronger and more capable. She wouldn't let him bring her down. Not without a fight.

* * *

**Hope you liked it!**

**Until next time then, **

**AK:)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Another chapter here, woohoo!  
**

**Enjoy :)**

**[Disclaimer- I do not own the Harry Potter series. I just write fanfiction.]**

* * *

Chapter 13

DPOV

'Granger!' he called from the hallway.

'I'm coming!'

He waited another minute, beginning to get impatient.

'Granger if you don't get out here-'

'I'm here! Shut up!' she exclaimed as she appeared out of her bedroom.

'Right, come on then.'

He held out his arm to her for side-along apparition.

'Remember, don't let go of me and keep the destination in mind. Malfoy Manor is extremely hard to enter by apparition.'

He felt her grab hold of his arm.

'Ready?' he asked.

'Ready.'

Suddenly they were being pressed through an uncomfortable sensation. He knew it would be even worse for Granger, due to her blood status. The Malfoy wards made it very hard for someone like her to enter.

The sensation was soon over, and they appeared in one of the parlours in the manor. As soon as they appeared, he felt Granger collapse against him, panting slightly.

'You alright, Granger?' he asked, holding her as she steadied herself.

'What on _earth_ is wrong with your wards!?'

'Sorry about that. The Malfoy wards are really old, and they affect you more depending on your blood status.'

'And you didn't tell me before because…?'

'I did! I said it's extremely hard to enter by apparition.'

'Well you could have specified the blood status bit.'

'I just didn't want you to panic before we apparated. That makes it even worse.'

'Oh.'

Just then, his mother came sweeping through the doorway.

'Draco. Would you like to explain why you've been standing in this room for the past few minutes? Is there something you're not telling me?'

He rolled his eyes at her overreaction.

'Good morning, Mother. May I introduce you to Granger?'

His mother only seemed to notice Granger at that moment.

'Oh! Miss Granger, pleasure to meet you! But still Draco, why have you been standing here for the past few minutes?'

'Mum. Calm down. I'm not hiding something drastic from you. We only took a few minutes because of the apparition wards.'

For a minute his mother looked confused, but then she seemed to put the pieces together in her head.

'Ah. Of course. Well, come on in then.'

As his mother swept out of the room, he realised that Granger was still holding his arm. She seemed to realise too, and they quickly separated their limbs.

'Thanks for the help.' she muttered.

'No problem.'

'Draco?' his mother called from in front.

'Yes?'

'Why are you here?'

Could she have been any blunter?

'We have to find some references to some things in the library.'

His mother suddenly turned around and pursed her lips.

'Draco, if I could just have a word? Miss Granger, would you mind waiting in the parlour over there for a few minutes?'

He frowned. What was his mother up to?

'Of course, Mrs Malfoy. This one here?'

'Yes, that's the one.'

As soon as Granger was out of earshot, his mother turned to him with a concerned look in her face.

'Draco, why is she here?'

'What do you mean? Do you not like having her here?'

'It's not me that doesn't like her. You don't like her. And if you are trying to do anything petty out of spite, I want you to stop right now.'

Well that was offensive.

'I am genuinely offended that you think I would do that, Mother. And I don't dislike her.'

'Then why is she here?'

'Because we need to research something.'

'Oh? And what would that be?'

'Some stuff.'

He sighed.

'Considering that what you're looking for is in our library, it must be something that is not in others. Which means it's probably dark. Why on earth are you looking for dark references with a muggle-born?'

'Granger and I need to research some things to do with our work.'

She looked at him for a few moments before relaxing her features.

'Alright. I believe you. Just be careful. There are still a few places in this manor that don't take kindly to blood like hers.'

'Yes, we'll be careful.'

And they walked over to the parlour where Granger was waiting. He opened the door for his mother and they walked through the double doors.

Granger wasn't in the parlour.

'Granger?'

No response was heard. He turned to face his mother.

'Are you sure you told her to go to this one?'

'Definitely. I saw her walk in.'

Oh Merlin. Where on earth had she gone?

His mother suddenly gasped.

'What if she's gone to one of the ancestral corridors?'

Horror flooded through him as he thought of the implications.

'Shit.' was all he said before sprinting to the other side of the parlour to the other door.

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HPOV

Hermione was hopelessly lost. She probably shouldn't have left the parlour. But the thing was, she couldn't have stayed in there. As soon as she had step foot in it, she had realised that it was the one from seventh year. The one where Bellatrix had tortured her. She couldn't wait in there. Not while she was still upset about a more recent memory.

So then she had walked out the other door, not wanting to cause a fuss when Malfoy was talking to his mum. She had decided to wait outside the parlour door, knowing that she would hear them when they came back in.

But then suddenly, the bit of floor she had been standing on had risen, twisted and moved, and now she had no idea where she was.

'Mudblood… Sullying the air in our house…'

She instantly looked around to see who had spoken. She couldn't see anyone. The word mudblood made her panic slightly, but she calmed herself down with a few deep breaths.

'Who said that?' she said out loud, trying to sound confident.

'Get out…Get out…'

Okay. Now she was scared. There were no paintings in this hallway, so that wasn't the source. She couldn't make out any ghosts either, but then again, the place was very dimly lit. So what could it be?

'_Lumos._'

Tentatively, she began walking down the corridor, hoping she would be able to find her way to the entrance of the manor.

'Out… Leave… Filth…'

She carried on walking, ignoring the whispers.

All of a sudden, she was accosted by a number of grey spirits, flying at her with angry looks on their faces. Her wand flew out of her hand and she fell to the floor screaming.

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DPOV

A scream was heard from the upper floors of the manor. He swore as he realised where the sound was coming from, and turned on the spot.

* * *

**A/N**

**Hope you liked it!**

**Please review! It inspires me to upload faster! Until next week, **

**Airborne Kites:)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**

**I'm so sorry I didn't upload last weekend, I was away and then I never got round to writing the chapter during the week. So instead, I'm uploading two today! Yay!**

**I've realised through a review that Draco changed way too fast, so I've beem going back and changing a few of the things he says and does in the first few chapters. The first chapters are terribly written. I might re-write them...**

**Anyway, I hope you like these chapters! **

**Please review, I'm up at half twelve in the morning uploading this ;)**

****[Disclaimer: Stuff you recognise belongs to the wonderfully talented J.K.R]****

* * *

Chapter 14

She couldn't breathe. She was surrounded by an icy cold sensation which was smothering her, freezing her lungs. Her limbs were slowly becoming numb as hissing whispers floated in and out of her brain.

'_Mudblood.'_

'_Filthhh.'_

She struggled to think clearly through the icy fog clouding her brain. What was going on? Her teeth began chattering, and still the spirits didn't stop accosting her. They flew around her, surrounding her in an icy blanket. Her breaths became slow and laboured, and she could hear them hissing in triumph.

'_Kill.'_

'_Leave.'_

An inky patch of darkness came towards her through the silvery haze. It began shrouding her, blocking out all other feelings. Slowly, she lost all her thoughts, drifting away into a sea of nothingness.

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DPOV

Draco saw them as soon as he appeared in the hallway. They were surrounding Granger, who was lying on the floor, her lips a nasty shade of blue. _No._

He sprinted towards her, scattering the spirits as he went. They hissed at him, whispering names and insults. He didn't pay any attention to them. They couldn't affect him. They were of the same flesh and blood as him.

He knelt down and picked Granger up from the floor, holding her close so she would warm up faster. He had to get her away from this place. He cursed under his breath. _How did she even get here in the first place?_

He decided not to use apparition, due to the blood wards on the Manor, deciding to run towards the nearest guest room instead. As soon as he began running, the sprits began following, trying to snatch Granger from him. He had to manoeuvre her into one arm for a moment so he could grab his wand from his pocket.

'_Vadam.'_

The spirits recoiled and hissed as they were sent away by an invisible force. He knew they wouldn't actually be gone, as they were bound to the Manor. They were probably just being herded into some old room in an unused wing for now. He'd have to deal with them later.

He kicked open a large door and hurried towards the bed, where he laid her down. He pulled the duvet over her and muttered a heating charm to hurry up the process.

Just then his Mother appeared in the doorway, a concerned expression on her face.

'Where did you find her?'

'The ancestral corridor.'

She grimaced and walked into the room, standing next to him.

'Why was she there?'

'I have no bloody clue.'

'Language. How close did they get to her?'

'They had almost frozen her to death by the time I arrived. I don't even know how long she'll take to warm up again.'

'We really do need to find a way to control them.'

He turned to face his mother. 'Why can't we just get rid of them?'

'Because they're part of the Manor. They're your family, Draco-'

'I don't give a damn about whether they're my family, Mum. Bellatrix was part of our _family._ That didn't change how evil she was.'

His mother flinched slightly at the mention of her late sister, but he carried on speaking.

'They're no family of mine. Not if they go around smothering innocent people for no reason.'

'I know.' she responded. 'You misunderstood me, Draco. I'm not saying I like them. But don't you think Lucius would have got rid of them straight after the war if he could? It's a very hard task, vanishing something that's bound to your home, to your blood. They're your family whether you like it or not.'

'We'll find a way.'

She smiled at his determination.

'Okay. We will.'

And she walked out the room, leaving Draco to his thoughts.

Why could he never be in time to save Granger? Why did he always find her after she was hurt? He sat down on the bed next to her, his head in his hands. If they hadn't come to the Manor, she wouldn't have been attacked. Now she had something else to have nightmares about. Great.

_You're doing a great job, Draco. In the past week, you've found her on the floor in two dark corridors. And she's even been attacked by something else! Two different types of attacks! Well done! You're so good at protecting people._

He felt like a bit of a failure, to be honest. He lifted his head to look at her. Her lips were regaining some colour, but they were still tinged with a bit of blue.

He reached over to check her pulse. Her wrist was still ice cold. He could feel a weak pulse under the icy veins. Frowning, he picked up the other wrist. It was ice cold too. How come the heating charm was working on her lips but not her hands?

He cautiously touched her lips, checking how warm they were.

They weren't warm at all. He ignored the feeling that came over him as he touched her lips. He had to focus on helping her for now.

A horrible thought came to him. She was just so cold that even the blue had gone. Was that even possible? Regardless, that was way too cold. Surely she couldn't survive if she stayed this cold for much longer.

He quickly cast another heating charm, hoping that this one would work. But instead of just relying on magic, he knew he had to do something else too. Slowly, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, hoping against hopes that his body heat would warm her up.

'Come on.' he muttered.

He didn't know how long he lay there, praying that she'd wake up. He cast numerous different charms, hoping they would help.

Slowly, she began regaining some heat. He could feel the warmth returning slightly to her limbs, causing him to sigh in relief, thanking Merlin she was fine.

He sat up when he was sure she would be fine, and wrapped her up snugly in the duvet. He didn't need to invade her privacy more than was necessary.

Draco stood up and began pacing the room. He had to tell Potter and Weasley. They had kept her safe all through school. Seven years. He hadn't even been able to keep her safe for one week.

Why had she been there anyway? Why had she left the drawing room?

His thoughts were interrupted by a small groan and a rustle from the bed behind him. He turned instantly and hurried to the large double bed.

* * *

**Hope you liked it!**

**AK :D  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

**Another chapter! Enjoy, and review please!**

**[Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series. Obviously.]**

* * *

Chapter 15

**HPOV**

The first thing she felt was a spark of warmth in her lips. A small island of heat in an ocean of freezing, glacial waters.

Slowly, she began to thaw. First the right side of her body, and then the left. Something was holding her. Something warm. She felt relieved that she didn't have to suffer in icy storm of her mind any more. Now there was something warm. Something to keep her warm.

No. The warmth was gone. She was still warm, but the object was gone. _Come back. Whatever you are. _Where was she anyway? All she could see was pitch black. She tried straining her eyes, but then realised they were shut. _Oh. _

_Come on. _She willed her eyes to open, but they seemed glued shut. She groaned, trying as hard as she could to separate her stubborn eyelashes. She vaguely registered movement near her, but she ignored it, concentrating on opening her eyes. Eventually, she managed to open them.

The first thing she saw was Malfoy. He was watching her with a concerned expression. As soon as he saw that her eyes were open, his face relaxed a bit.

'How're you feeling?'

She began replying, but all that left her mouth was a croak. Her throat was rough and cold. Frost lined the walls of her throat. She began coughing lightly, trying to clear her throat of the chill.

He was next to her in a second, handing her some warm water. She gratefully drank it, thankful for the warm substance entering her body.

'Thanks,' she managed to croak out.

'No problem.'

She smiled at him as he sat down next to her.

'Granger?'

'Yes?'

'Why in the name of Merlin did you feel the need to leave the parlour?'

She felt her smile vanish.

'I, um. I- I couldn't stay in there.'

Her throat felt slightly rough again, and she drank some more water from the glass in her hand. He frowned slightly in confusion.

'Why?'

'Bad memories.' She looked away as she spoke.

She heard a sharp intake of breath, and looked back up at him, knowing he had made the connection.

'Oh, Merlin, Granger. I am so sorry. I can't believe I forgot. I'm so sorry-'

'It's fine, don't worry! People forget things sometimes!'

'No, it's really not fine, Granger. I'm such a fucking idiot. I can't believe I was so thick.'

'Malfoy, stop it.'

'No! I can't stop it! I'm not helping you in the slightest!'

'Yes you are!'

'How?'

'No one else knows about Nott!'

'Well that's exactly the point. No one else knows. So I'm the _only _option. And a crap one, at that. Granger, you need to tell Potter and Weasley.'

Suddenly she was scared.

'No.' she whispered.

He stood up suddenly, exasperated.

'Why not? I know they'll be upset, but they're not dumb. Even I can admit that they're good Aurors. They know how to stay calm!'

That was true, actually. He was right. But he couldn't leave her. Not when she needed him.

'I can't. Not now. I'll tell them, I promise. But not now.'

'But now's the only time! You need someone to keep you safe!'

'No I don't! I'm capable of keeping myself safe. I just need someone to be there when I need help from a breakdown or something!'

'Well why can't they do it?'

'They can. They're capable. But you already know, so I don't _need _to tell them.'

'So why didn't you tell them first instead of me?' he said as he sat down again.

She sat up, annoyed.

'I wasn't going to tell _anyone_, dumbarse. It's not my fault that you ended up finding out.'

He sighed.

'I suppose you're right.'

'Yes, I always am.'

He smiled slightly at that. Then he frowned.

'Your lips are turning blue again. How're you feeling?'

'Good, I suppose. A bit cold. What were those things that attacked me?'

He sighed again. 'They're like ghosts, only they can actually do stuff. And they're bonded to this manor. And they don't like muggle blood.'

'Yeah, I worked that out.'

'I'm really sorry about them. I try to contro-.'

'Stop apologising, Malfoy. It's not your fault.'

He smiled wryly. Her teeth began chattering slightly, and he frowned as he noticed.

'You should probably get warm.'

And he cast a heating spell. It had hardly any effect. The chattering of her teeth became worse. And she felt tiredness creeping up on her.

'I don't think it's working, Malfoy. How did you warm me up before?'

He looked away slightly before answering.

'I sat with you.'

Her teeth began chattering violently, and he quickly came and sat next to her, rubbing her arms slightly. His brows furrowed in worry. She yawned.

'Come on Granger. Warm up.'

And so she fell asleep, warm in his arms.

* * *

**A/N**

**Awww cheesy ending there.**

**Hope you liked it, because it's almost one in the morning. Hehe.**

**Until next week,**

**AK :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

**Hey guys! **

**So far in this story, Draco keeps having to save Hermione, but be safe in the knowledge that Hermione is NOT going to be a weak girl who needs saving the whole way through. So don't worry, Hermione will be the strong woman that she is.  
**

**[Disclaimer: I don't own stuff.]**

* * *

Chapter 16

She awoke groggily, surrounded in warmth. She was being held softly, and securely. There was a musky scent in the air. Hermione Granger had never felt more comfortable.

She opened her eyes fully, trying to work out where she was. Oh, yes. Malfoy Manor. Her brain slowly began recalling the events that had taken place before she had fallen asleep. She remembered her conversation with Malfoy, and how she had been getting colder and colder by the minute. She remembered him coming to her and holding her, providing her with much-needed warmth.

She shifted under his arms so they weren't over her any more, before turning to face him. Then she prodded him. 'Malfoy. Get up.'

'Go away,' he moaned, his voice thick with sleep.

'No.' He proceeded to sleepily smirk at her before turning away, shutting his eyes, falling asleep again.

She instantly sat up and glared at his sleeping form. He was such a cocky idiot. Well, she'd have to teach him a lesson.

'GET YOUR SLIMY SLYTHERIN ARSE OUT OF BED!'

His eyes opened with shock as he went tumbling off the bed. She couldn't help the fits of laughter that followed. It was too comical. He stood up and glared at her.

'Why the hell did you need to do that?'

'You weren't waking up!'

'So? I'm entitled to some sleep in my own HOUSE!'

'Well it was about time you woke up?'

'Its eight o'clock! Do you always wake up this early to make people's lives miserable?'

'No, but we have stuff to do today.'

'Can't it wait? You're still unwell!'

'No. We should go to the library now.'

'It can wait. You need to rest.'

'No it can't.'

'Yes it can bloody wait, Granger. I'm tired, and I want to sleep too.'

'Fine. I'll do it myself!'

And she began walking to the door. She needed to start the research. Merlin knew how long it was going to take.

'No. You can't go by yourself.'

She turned around to face him, her arms crossed over her chest.

'And why not?'

'The Malfoy library is not somewhere you want to go alone. You've been attacked enough in this past week. And you're still weak from yesterday.'

'Then get up!' she replied, exasperated. Honestly.

'I. Want. To. Sleep.'

She glared at him before sighing and walking out of the door. She heard him getting up and walking towards her before she felt his hand on her wrist.

'Granger, I'm serious. Don't go adventuring around the Manor. It's dangerous.'

She sighed.

'I just want to find out more about the curse.'

'I know you do. But you were attacked yesterday! You have to rest!'

'I was resting all night.'

'You need to properly rest. You're weak.'

'I am not weak!'

But to her dismay, her body was intent on embarrassing her. She felt a dizzy spell coming on before she began swaying. His grip on her wrist kept her up.

He smirked before leading her back into the room and walking her to the bed. She frowned at him before sitting down.

'Told you so.'

'Whatever.' she replied before sticking her tongue out at him.

He laughed at her response. 'Honestly. Grow up, Granger. And lie down and sleep. Get some rest.'

She lay down and shut her eyes. She hadn't realised how tired she was. She felt the bed shift slightly as he lay down next to her.

'Now shut up and don't disturb me,' he muttered before she drifted off into the land of sleep.

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She could feel that sensation all around her. The musty smell of books filled her nostrils. She felt at home.

'Welcome to the Malfoy Library.'

She snapped out of her daze. Books surrounded her. There were so many ancient scripts in this room. So much hidden knowledge.

'Let's start looking. Where's the curse section?'

'There,' he said, pointing towards one of the many shelves.

They walked towards the shelf.

'What type of curse is it though?' she muttered to herself before taking one of the books from the shelf. The title was engraved in silver onto the blue leather-bound book. Curses and Curses. What a creative name. She opened the contents page, and skimmed her eyes over the list. It was just a book on how to cast curses with a few basic curse instructions. Rubbish.

She placed it back into the shelf and took a look at the different titles of the other books. One caught her eye. _Difficult Curses for Difficult Times. _She opened it up and looked through the contents. Past the unforgivables, past the flame-related curses, past the pain causing, past the inconvenience curses. Then she saw something which might work. _Long distance curses. Huh_. Maybe this could apply. Page one hundred and forty two.

_Long distance curses are curses which can stay alive regardless of the distance. They are usually cast when the caster is near the victim, but in a few rare cases the caster is able to cast the curse from a distance. These curses mostly sustain themselves on something from the victim's body in order to stay alive, e.g. energy. However, a few use the caster's energy, or other sources. Long distance curses are cast straight onto the victim's body by the caster's own wand. There are a few rare cases when these curses are cast using the victim's own wand (See page 160)._

She flipped to the page that was referred, and was disappointed see that very little was written.

_Theses curses are rare occurrences, as the wand will often object cursing its wizard. However, strong wizards can master this through dark means. They are easier to maintain than cursing through one's own wand._

'Malfoy!' she called. 'I think I found something.'

He looked up from the text he was reading and walked over. She handed him the book, open on the page she had been reading.

'Read page one hundred and forty two too. It's got more information.'

She waited as he read the pages she had told him. He looked up at her after finishing.

'Well, it's a start.'

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DPOV

'Well, it's a start.'

'Yeah. Now we know what kind of things to find.'

She began looking for more books, searching along the shelves. In his opinion, she looked a bit pale.

'You feeling alright?'

She turned around and sighed. 'Yes. Stop worrying. Honestly, you're like Ron.'

'You were attacked by spirits yesterday.'

'But I'm better now.'

'Better safe than sorry.'

He walked away to another shelf pulling out various books which looked helpful. He knew it was a hallucination curse as well as a long distance one, but there didn't seem to be any references of them together. And it didn't help that he was too busy worrying about Granger to concentrate on what he was reading. He kept having to look out to make sure she wasn't going blue, or collapsing.

He pulled out another book at random, barely looking at the dark, leather-bound cover.

Before he knew it he was being surrounded by black mist, choking him. Screams erupted around him, piercing wails that made him want to rip his ears out. In the distance he heard someone shouting his name.

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HPOV

'Malfoy!' she screamed. '_Evanesco!_'

The vanishing spell had hardly any effect on the mist. It merely recoiled slightly before attacking Malfoy once again.

'_Reducto! Finite Incantatem!'_

Both spells had minimum effect. _There must be a lot of dark magic at work here. _There was no other spell she knew that could possibly work.

She was beginning to panic. She couldn't let Malfoy suffer in there, but she had no more ideas. So Hermione did the last thing she could think of. She ran straight into the smoky clouds in front of her, head held high and wand blazing.

* * *

**A/N**

**Please please please please please let me know what you think. And tell me what I can improve.**

**Until next time,**

**Airborne Kites:)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**

**Also, I don't actually know if I'll get another update in for the next two weeks, I'm so sorry! I've become so irregular with updating and I feel so bad! I'll try my absolute hardest to get another one in before my trip thing!**

**But thank you all so much for your continued support, I love you all!**

**[Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.]**

* * *

Chapter 17

He couldn't breathe. His lungs couldn't take it anymore. The smoke was scratching his throat and entering his lungs. The screams were deafening him.  
He began coughing uncontrollably.  
_I hope Granger's escaped,_ was his last thought before he felt something being snatched from his hands as he faded into unconsciousness.

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HPOV

She stumbled away from him, holding the book in her hands. The smoke seemed to realise, and followed her. Voices entered her head, shrieking incorrigible words. She pulled out her wand, pointing it to the book.

'_Silencio!'_

No effect. The screams felt like they were bursting her eardrums.

'_Reducto! Expulso!'_

The combined magic of both spells caused the book to explode in her hands, leaving blisters in her palms. She turned around and hurried over to an unconscious Malfoy, ignoring the burning in her lungs and her hands, and the ringing in her ears.

She knelt beside his unresponsive figure, lifting his hand and checking for a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt one. She lifted up her wand and waved it down his body.

'_Perlustro.'_

A few areas around his torso began glowing slightly as the examination spell took place. She watched, concerned, as one particularly bright glow appeared over his lungs, outlining a broken lung. That needed to be healed as soon as possible.

'_Episkey.'_

The spell fixed the lung, but not fully. She just needed the bones to be stable while she transported him to a bed. So she couldn't simply lift him, or it would jostle the rib, causing more pain. She needed to use a hover charm.

After cancelling the examination charm, and casting hovering and cushioning charms on him, she began making her way out of the library, trying to remember her way to the guest bedroom she had been staying in.

After a few minutes of confused navigation, she finally reached a set of doors she thought she recognised. She kicked them open and hurried towards the bed, gently lowering Malfoy onto it. The ringing got louder in her ears, but she gritted her teeth and focused on the task at hand. Malfoy needed her more right now, she could do something about the stupid ringing later.

She looked around the room, hoping to see a potions cabinet, when she realised she was in a different room to the one she had been in earlier. The curtains, sofa, and bed were all a dark green, instead of the beige she had seen earlier. This room also seemed to be bigger than the other one. She finally spotted a potions cabinet, and hurried towards it.

'Now, where's the pain-relief potion.' she muttered to herself after opening the small door and inspecting the contents. _Ah. Found it._

She brought the vial back to Malfoy, who was grimacing slightly in his sleep. She really needed to fix that lung before administering the potion though.

After a few minutes of thinking, she decided on which spell would be best for the broken bone. It was a similar one to the _Episkey _spell, but required more energy from the caster, for stronger healing.

She cast the scanning spell again, before casting the healing one.

'_Exsarcio.'_

The half-healed bone took a while to fully fix itself, but eventually it was done. He was still grimacing, slightly. She placed her fingers under his chin and tilted his head slightly so she could pour some pain-relief potion down his throat. She felt an undescribable sensation run through her at the contact, but she ignored it, focusing on Malfoy.

The ringing was getting constantly more painful, so she drank a sip of the potion herself. The sound was probably just an after-effect from that odd book's dark magic.

His grimace soon disappeared, reassuring her that the potion was doing it's job. Now she just had to wait a short while before she could wake him, standard protocol she had learned in training.

Fourteen minutes slowly passed, in which she simply sat by his side, concerned about him. Finally, though, the fifteenth minute came, and she was able to wake him up.

'_Ennervate.'_

His eyes slowly began opening, and he looked at her.

'Granger?'

'Yes, that's me.'

'Are you alright? They didn't get you, did they?'

His concern for her, even while he was unwell, caused a warm feeling inside her.

'I'm fine, Malfoy. It's yourself that you should be worried about.'

'I'm fine!'

He started sitting up to prove his point before wincing and laying back down. She watched him worriedly.

'Where does it hurt?'

'Everywhere.'

'Shit. We should take you to St Mungo's then.'

'Calm the language, Granger! It's just achy, nothing serious.'

She didn't know whether to believe him or not. And she needed to check his rib. So she leaned over and poked his ribcage lightly, which earned her a strange look from Malfoy.

'What the hell?'

'Sorry. Just checking that your rib healed. It was broken, but I think it's healed now.'

'Oh. Thanks.'

'You're welcome. Are you sure it's just an ache you feel?'

'Yes, I'm sure.'

'As in Veritaserum sure? I can use some right now.'

He looked straight at her, in the eye.

'I'm sure.'

She still didn't know whether to believe him, so she cast the scanning spell on him again. His Body parts began lighting up, causing him to turn to her with an annoyed expression on his aristocratic features.

'Why the hell am I lighting up like some kind of fairy?'

'Because I felt like you would be a good fairy.'

He looked at her with an incredulous look on his face. She sighed.

'You know why, you idiot. It's the scanning spell.'

He was silent for a moment before responding.

'I knew that.'

She ignored him and carried on checking for any other internal damage. She couldn't see anything else, so it probably was just an ache.

'Found anything? Any reason to think I was lying?'

She cancelled the scanning spell, breathing a sigh of relief. He was fine, there was no lasting damage.

'Honestly, Granger. I'm hurt that you trust me so little.' He placed a hand on his heart in mock injury.

'You poor thing. Here. Drink some pain-relief potion.'

'Wh-'

'Shut up and drink it. We need to research stuff. Do you realise we've been here since yesterday morning and literally haven't done anything? Let's use the time we have left before we have to go to work tomorrow.'

So he drank the potion, moaning.

'I'm unwell. I shouldn't be forced to do labour.'

'Research can hardly be counted as labour. And besides, only a few moments ago, you were adamant that you were fine!'

'When? Because I really do not remember. In fact, I was probably so ill that I was speaking nonsense.'

She couldn't help but laugh. It was a nice change from all the depressing thoughts in her head.

'Why do you find that funny?' he asked, looking at her strangely.

She grinned at him.

'I have no idea.'

'Okay then,' he replied, smiling slightly.

They walked quickly to the library, hurrying to find out as much as possible about the curse. The hours passed slowly, almost tediously for Draco, but Granger didn't seem to mind at all. They looked through what seemed like hundreds of books, but only found useful information in a handful of them.

He could see the sun setting through the stained-glass window. It was late evening.

'I think we've found all that we can, Granger.'

She looked up from the book she was holding.

'No we haven't.'

'Yes we have.'

'No we haven't, Malfoy. End of.'

'It's _my _library, Granger. And I'm telling you that we literally cannot find any more information.'

'I don't believe you.'

'Not my problem.'

She sighed in defeat, probably not wanting to admit that he was right. He smirked at her. She ignored it.

'Let's go back to your room and put it all together.'

She stood up and walked straight out of the library, carrying half of the books in her arms. He watched her go. She walked around like she owned the bloody place.

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DPOV

They sat at the desk in his room, piecing bits of information together. They had found out so far that the curse was feeding on Granger's energy, so she would start feeling more tired as time went on. And the hallucinations themselves would be whatever Nott wanted. They also found out that Nott must've acquired more power from somewhere. And the only way to remove the curse was to take Granger's wand back.

'I think we've worked out enough now. Let's head back to the apartment.'

He stood up and offered an arm to her. She stared strangely at the limb.

'The wards, remember?' he reminded her.

'Oh yeah.'

She seemed to blush slightly as she took hold of his arm.

'Ready?'

'Yep.'

After a few moments of the unpleasant squeezing sensation, they arrived at her apartment, Granger panting heavily and leaning on him. He led her over to the sofa, where she sat down to catch her breath.

'Those wards of yours really need to be fixed.'

'Yeah, I know. But it's all that ancient magic stuff, and frankly, I cannot be bothered to spend months on end figuring it out.'

'How thoughtful of you.'

'I know,' he replied with a grin. 'I am the epitome of thoughtfulness.'

She rolled her eyes, stood up, and walked over to the window, where a few letters lay under the ledge. She picked them up and began reading through them. The first one she read through quickly, a smile crossing her face. The second one however, was different. Her eyes skimmed quickly through the letter, widening in fear. She dropped the letter, grabbing the ledge for support.

Draco was by her side in an instant, supporting her and sitting her down on the sofa near the window.

He then picked up the letter from the floor and began reading it.

**_Dearest Granger,_**

**_It was such a pleasant surprise seeing you on Friday. In fact, I simply cannot wait to see you again! So I've arranged a meeting tomorrow, as I am eager to carry on with our little project. I have already spoken to the other departments, so they are all prepared. See you tomorrow at noon._**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_Nott Jr_**

He felt anger course through him. What the hell was wrong with Theo? When had he become such a bastard?

'I- I don't think I can face him yet.'

The small whisper brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see a shaken Granger staring at him. He walked over and sat down on the sofa with her.

'Yes you can.'

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry for the weird re-update thing! Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review!**

**AK ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**

**I am so so sorry for the delay! Things are so hectic right now so it's really hard to get these chapters done! I've been typing them up on my phone when I'm out, to save time, but I still get them to you late! Sorry! I don't know when the next post will be but I will try my hardest to make sure it doesn't take over two weeks!  
**

**Thanks so much for all the follows, favourites, and reviews. They make me insanely happy! Thank you all for being so amazingly amazing! :DDD**

* * *

Chapter 18

She straightened her robes, taking a deep breath. The meeting was at noon, so she still had a few hours to prepare.

'Ready yet, Granger?'

'Yeah, coming.'

She grabbed her wand and walked out of her bedroom. Malfoy was waiting for her in the kitchen, leaning against the counter.

'I'm ready.'

'Aren't you going to eat anything?'

'Not hungry.'

'You have to eat something!'

'I'm not hungry! Come on, we need to leave.'

She began walking towards her apparition point in the living room.

'Granger, get back here right now.'

She ignored him and carried on towards the point. She heard him stride towards her, before he grabbed her wrist. She turned around, trying to pull her wrist out of his firm grasp, and found herself alarmingly close to him.

A moment of silence passed as she looked into his eyes. She had never seen the depth in his silver orbs. She felt as if she could simply fall into them and get lost for days.

She suddenly realised what she was doing, and pulled herself away from him, only to realise he was still holding her wrist.

'My wrist, Malfoy?' she asked looking pointedly at their hands, trying to ignore the moment that had just passed.

He didn't let go, however. He held it firmly, also ignoring the odd moment.

'You need to eat something. We're Aurors. You're going to need energy if there's an emergency.'

'There's never an emergency!'

'What if there's one today? And besides, you still need to eat!'

'Just stop worrying, I'll be fine!'

She yanked her hand out of his grip, and started walking.

'For Merlin's sake, Granger! The bloody curse is feeding off your energy!'

She whirled around to face him.

'So what? I'm. Not. Hungry. I don't need energy!'

'Yes you do. I'll force you if I have to.'

He grabbed her wrist again, pulling her back away from the point, and she yanked it out again before walking back to the point.

_'Petrificus Totalus!'_

She instantly felt herself freeze before falling into Malfoy's waiting arms.

'I'm very sorry that I had to do that. But if it's the only way you'll eat then I really don't feel much guilt.'

All she could do was glare. He carried her to the sofa and laid her down before disappearing into the kitchen. Five minutes later, he returned with a bowl of muggle cereal.

'This is the stuff you eat, right?'

She carried on glaring, not being able to respond.

'Oh_. Finite Incantatem._'

She instantly leapt to her feet, running back to the point where she would be able to leave. She didn't want any fucking breakfast.

She turned on the spot, seeing Malfoy holding the bowl before she disappeared.

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**DPOV**

Damn Granger. Damn her stubborn attitude. What on earth was wrong with a bowl of bloody cereal?! But two could play this game. If she wanted to be stubborn, so did he. He was giving her that bowl no matter what.

He placed a spell on the bowl in order to make sure it didn't spill and walked to the apparition point, choosing to apparate straight into his office. After a moment of squeezing sensations, he found himself in front of his desk. He set down the bowl of cereal and left the room to find Granger.

'Granger! Come out here!'

'No!' came her shout from her office.

'Granger I swear to Merlin that if you don't get out right now I will blast down your bloody door and drag you out.'

At this exclamation a few people turned and looked at him peculiarly. People looked out of their doors to see what the fuss was about. He ignored all of them.

After no reply came from within her office, he took his wand out of his robes pocket and aimed at her door.

'_Ruducto minime!_'

Everyone around him gasped as the door blasted away. It left hardly any damage though, due to the spell being a minimal spell. He walked straight in, ignoring the shouts behind him. He was Draco Malfoy. He didn't give a damn about what they thought. As he entered, he fixed the door behind him and placed silencing and locking charms on it. He saw an alarmed Granger standing in front of her desk with her wand out.

'Granger.'

'Malfoy.'

'Eat the cereal,' he said, conjuring the bowl from his own office and placing it on her desk.

'Were those theatrics all about some cereal?'

'Yes. Now eat.'

'Oh for Merlin's fucking pants' sake! I don't want any cereal!'

'I don't care. You have to eat something!'

'No.'

'Fine, don't eat the cereal. Eat something else.'

'I'm not hungry!'

He moved closer, until he was a few inches from her face.

'Just shut up and eat.'

'No!'

He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, carrying her towards her seat and forcing her to sit down in it. Suddenly the door was blasted open by a livid looking duo.

As soon as Potter and Weasley saw them, they shouted and wrestled Granger out of his arms. The door swung shut behind them and automatically locked due to the charm placed on it previously.

'What the fuck did you think you were doing, Malfoy.' Asked Weasley in a deadly voice, his eyes flashing. '_Stupefy! Incarcerous!'_

A flash light shot towards Draco, and he leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the spell. He wasn't so lucky with the ropes that shot out of Weasley's wand, and they proceeded to wrap around him painfully.

Weasley snarled, lifting his wand and beginning to shout out the stunning spell once more.

'Ron! Stop!' Granger shouted from Potter's arms.

It seemed to be enough to deter the angry wizard, as he turned quickly towards her.

'I know what you saw looked bad, but honestly, Malfoy wasn't trying to hurt me!'

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**HPOV**

Ron raised his eyebrow sceptically, and Hermione quickly walked to stand in front of Malfoy, ensuring no further harm.

'Hermione, what happened?' Harry asked, looking worriedly at her.

She sighed. She couldn't lie to them. Not when they cared so much about her.

'Malfoy was just angry because I hadn't eaten breakfast.' she told them, motioning to the bowl on the desk.

They stared at her incredulously.

'He blasted down your door and manhandled you into a seat because you weren't eating _breakfast?_'

'Yes.'

'That's a bit extreme,' stated Harry.

'I know guys. It's just complicated. Don't worry.'

Harry looked at her for a while, his emerald eyes searching her own. After a while, he nodded and smiled at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ron suddenly spoke.

'Wait.'

He lifted his wand and performed a standard scan to ensure she wasn't under any magical influence. Then, when no results turned up, he performed a complicated version of the same spell. After checking she was clear, he turned to her.

'You're good.'

She rolled her eyes and went to hug him.

'You worry too much, Ron.'

He hugged her back.

'You would worry too if someone blasted into my office and began manhandling me.'

'I know. Thanks.'

He grinned at her in response.

'It's my job.'

Then he looked over at Malfoy, who was still tied up. He sighed and flicked his wand, causing the ropes to disappear. He then looked back at her.

'We'll be leaving, then. Let us know if you need anything, okay? And I hate to say this, but Malfoy might be right. If you haven't eaten any breakfast, then eat something.'

'Guys, stop being so overprotective.'

'It's auror protocol. If you don't we'll tell on you,' Ron told her with a grin.

Harry nodded in agreement with him, and she rolled her eyes as they left the office. Honestly. Everyone worried too much.

'Happy now, Granger? Even your boyfriends say you should eat. So eat.'

'Oh for Merlin's sake! Give it a rest!'

But she sat down and ate it anyway, while he watched her, smirking. She wouldn't have eaten it, but when three people were telling her she had to, she couldn't be bothered to create another fuss. Especially not after the whole blasting down doors thing.

'Right. I'm done.'

She vanished the empty bowl, glaring at him.

'Granger, I'm hurt. When I tell you to eat, you scream your lungs out and force me to use physical violence. When Weasley tells you something, you listen. My heart is literally broken right now.'

She ignored him.

'Not even a reason why? That hurts, Granger. It really does.'

'That's a real shame, Malfoy. But I can always kill you if you want me to put your poor heart out of its misery.'

'Ouch.'

She ignored him and looked up at the clock. A thought came to her mind when she read it. Was it really already ten forty-five? It had already been forty five minutes since she had come in Shoot. Shoot shoot shoot. The meeting with Nott. Damn. Only an hour and a quarter to go. Malfoy seemed to notice her worried look, and immediately stopped joking around.

'What's wrong?'

She looked up at him.

'The meeting! I completely forgot! Shit!'

'Don't worry. We still have over an hour.'

'I have to see h- him again!' she said, stuttering lightly. 'I have to talk and everything! I can't!'

It just annoyed her so much. Even if she was confident, the thought of Nott would tear her down. She hated being so weak in front of people. She hated it.

He walked over to her, conjured up a seat beside hers, and sat down next to her.

'If you don't want to talk, don't. Talk to the others. I'll try and do whatever I can to reply to Theo instead of you having to.'

She looked at him gratefully, but her worries hardly subsided. She kept them to herself, though, not wanting to concern him any more than she already had.

'Thank you.' she told him quietly.

'Any time.'

* * *

**A/N**

**Awwww Draco :)**

**Hope you liked it! Don't you just love Ron and Harry? They're adorable XD  
**

**Please review! It inspires me to write more!**

**AK ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N**

**Hello again, lovely amazing wonderful people who are reading! This chapter is one of my longest, but I have to warn you, this is a sort of filler chapter. Quite uneventful. There's a surprise waiting at the end, though! Thanks to all the beautiful people who review, favourite and follow this story :) **

**And thanks for the inspiration spell, kamarooka, it worked ;)  
**

* * *

Chapter 19

**DPOV**

He stood by the door in the conference room, with ten minutes to go. Granger was pacing anxiously behind him, muttering to herself under her breath. He turned, walked towards her, and placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her still.

'Calm down, Granger! He can't hurt you here. Not with everyone here.'

'But he could just take me away! He could apparate.'

'No he can't. Only an auror can apparate out of here. Anyone else needs auror permission.'

She took a deep breath.

'Okay. Thanks.'

'You ready?'

'As ready as I can be.'

He gave her a reassuring look which bordered on a smile, but not quite. He never really properly smiled at her. It just wasn't something he did with her.

'So, about the actual meeting. After you left, I discussed with the separate departments. They all agreed with our proposal, with the slight exception of Mrs Hopkirk. She wasn't opposed to the idea, but she didn't know if she wanted to agree on behalf of her department. Hopefully, she'll be letting us know this morning.'

'Right. Anything else?'

'Not that I can think of.'

'Right then. I'll go get the contact memos sorted, for after the meeting.'

She went to the table and he walked over to the door again. Five minutes to go. As he waited, his thoughts drifted unbidden to the moment that had taken place before work. Time had felt like it had frozen as he had stared into her eyes.

She had wonderful eyes, there was no denying that. They weren't some sort of fancy hazel, or caramel. They were a sort of mix between honey and chestnut, quite a simple, ordinary brown. But it was the depth in that brown that was astounding. The energy that flickered inside them, the spark that was present whenever she was passionate about something could hypnotise him if he looked too deeply. It made her eyes so different to all of the other brown-eyed women, it seemed like a completely different colour. And he had been hypnotised this morning.

'Auror Malfoy! How're you?'

He broke out of his thoughts, seeing Brocklehurst standing in front of him. She was dressed in her ministry robes, her sandy blonde hair in a loose bun, and a beaming smile on her face. He smiled back lightly, and gestured for her to sit down by the table Granger was standing by.

'Hermione! Great to see you again! It's…'

As soon as he realised that Brocklehurst had begun her irritating rambling, he turned away and headed back to the door, expecting the others. They arrived quite soon, except for Theo. He welcomed them all in, keeping an eye on Granger, who was chatting to Brocklehurst. He heard the word 'Theo' in the conversation, and immediately began listening, making sure Granger was fine.

'…I don't particularly know how he became so enthusiastic about work, he was so keen to plan this meeting with you. He said he was corresponding with you and everything! He must be very excited about our little new department finally doing something with the rest of the ministry…'

Granger nodded, keeping a smile on her face, hiding any emotions. He began walking towards them.

'…He did correspond with you, didn't he? I would feel terrible if he just decided on the date and time without checking. He can be like that sometimes.'

'Ah, don't worry, Miss Brocklehurst. I can assure you that Theodore kept in contact with us,' he interrupted with a smile.

Brocklehurst beamed and excused herself, walking over to get herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

'Thanks,' Granger said to him with a relieved smile.

'No problem. But Theo's going to have to come in at some point.'

'I know,' she sighed. 'It's hard not to worry though.'

'I know it is, just don't show him. You can't admit defeat to that bastard. Show him what you're made of.'

She gave him a small smile. Brocklehurst came back up to them. Sweet Merlin, couldn't that woman just shut up?

'I think Theo will be late, again,' she said, frowning at the door. 'I'm so sorry. Just start without him.'

'That's perfectly fine, Mandy. Don't apologise, it's not your fault. Shall we begin, Malfoy?'

They walked to the front of the room, and he called for attention. Then Granger began speaking.

'I know it hasn't been long since the last meeting, but Nott wanted a meeting now, and so why shouldn't we have it now?'

He could see the way she faltered slightly saying Nott. No one else noticed, thankfully.

'Have you all had the chance to speak to your department heads? Mrs Hopkirk?'

'Call me Mafalda. And I have, but they don't agree.' She pulled out a red envelope from her bag, which immediately began to speak.

'At the Improper Use of Magic office, we are quite busy with all sorts of other magic. It would require a lot of resources to find these few magical signatures, and the fact that they are all of age makes it even harder. We do not believe that this is our top priority at the moment. The department is sure you are perfectly capable without our help, for now. If you really need our help in later stages, we will reconsider. Thank you for asking our department, but the answer, we are afraid, is no.'

It burst into flame, burning away in mid-air. Mrs Hopkirk stood up from her seat.

'Well, I must leave now.'

'Thank you, Mafalda, for all your help. We understand the department's decision,' Granger replied.

'Don't hesitate to ask if things get worse!'

'We won't. Have a nice day!'

'You too, Miss Granger.'

And she bustled off, carrying her bag.

'Has any other department disagreed?' Granger asked everyone else in the room.

They all shook their heads.

'Great! So let's go on with discussing the terms of each-'

She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening loudly. He turned immediately to face the door, inching towards Granger as Nott entered the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

He wasn't about to scare her away again. She had promised herself she would fight. Forcing any panic down, she faced him with an almost stubborn set of her jaw, and a blazing look in her eyes. She watched him intently as he entered the room.

He was very tall, around six foot three, and had quite a lean build from what she could see. His dark hair hung over his icy-blue eyes slightly until he shook it away, and he had an easy grin on his face. If the circumstances were different, she would have called him good-looking. As it was, all she felt was disgust as he walked in, grinning.

'Sorry I'm late again.'

'Good Merlin, Theo, shut up and just sit down.' Mandy scolded him. 'Considering you were the one that organised the meeting, one would think that you'd be on time, for once. Granger was just asking about the terms of the agreements.'

Nott turned to face her, a charming smile on his face. She could see the malicious intent in his cold eyes, hidden behind the gracious exterior.

'I sincerely apologise, Miss Granger. Do carry on.'

He sat down and gestured for her to continue. She nodded and cleared her throat, trying her hardest not to let his presence affect her.

'So, about the terms of agreement. I trust that you have all written your terms on parchment? If you would like to bring them to me, then I can read through them and sign the contract.'

Andrew Borage walked up to her, holding a folded up piece of parchment in his hand. She smiled at him as she took it and began reading through it, trying to focus on the parchment rather than the tall dark haired man standing a few metres away from her.

After a few rereads, she finally understood the D.I.M.C.'s (Department of International Magical Co-operation) terms, and agreed to them fully. She signed the parchment and tapped it with her wand, sealing the contract. After she was finished, she saw Nott walking towards her, parchment in hand, and a gleam in his eyes as he walked.

'Ah, Theo. I'll take care of that for you.'

Malfoy was standing in front of him, quill at the ready. An annoyed look flashed across the man's face, but he hid it well, turning it into a grin.

'Thanks, Draco.'

'No problem.'

She watched in relief as Malfoy read the terms and signed the parchment. Thank Merlin.

'Auror Granger?'

Penny Nutt was standing beside her, a pleasant look on her face.

'That's me,' she said with a smile. 'How can I help you?'

'I just thought I'd give you my office times so that if you need to pop in quickly, you'll know if me or Andrew are in.' She handed over a small list of times.

'Thank you, Mrs Nutt. That's very helpful of you.'

'Not a problem, Miss Granger. When will the next meeting be?'

'It's not actually scheduled yet, but I'll let you know using a pale green memo. They'll be the colour code for this group. They're on the table if you need to take some.'

Nutt nodded and walked over to get herself some memos from the pile on the table.

'Ah, Miss Granger. Pleasure, as always.'

She spun around to see Nott standing there, a slight smirk concealed in his handsome smile.

'We didn't get to talk last time. You rushed off so fast. Were you unwell?'

The malice hidden in his eyes made her want to break down again, and she began mustering up the courage to reply to him when she felt a presence by her side.

'Yes, she was unwell. It's a good thing she left, or there would be quite a mess!'

For the second time, relief flooded through her as Malfoy smoothly replied on her behalf. And once again, annoyance flashed across Nott's features.

'Well, I'm glad you're feeling better then,' he told her with a charming smile.

She smiled faintly back and excused herself, walking over to the table with the intent of discussing memos with Andrew Borage and Mandy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry and Ron lingering outside the door, so she walked over to them instead.

'What are you two doing here?'

'Nothing.'

'Oh, so you just casually decided to watch my meeting for no reason, Ron?'

'Yeah.'

She huffed and turned to Harry, who sighed.

'We were just checking on Malfoy, after what happened this morning. Honest.'

'Merlin, guys. Calm down! He's not some evil, sneaky demon.'

Ron simply ignored her, showing he clearly believed otherwise.

'Harry, look. Malfoy and Nott. Probably plotting something. Slimy little slytherins.'

Harry nodded in agreement.

'Oh for Merlin's sake-'

'Shh. Fred and George showed me the charm they used on the extendable ears. I altered it a bit in a way which we can use. Hold on.'

He murmured something quietly and waved his wand in a small circle, enclosing the three of them in a small circle of light which only they could see. Then he flicked his wand towards the two Slytherins on the far side of the room.

'What if someone sees us?'

'There's an invisibility spell woven into the charm.'

'Wow. This is really good magic, Ron.' she said, looking at the light surrounding them and forgetting that she was irritated at him.

'Yeah, I know. Thanks.' he replied with a grin. 'Now be quiet.'

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**DPOV**

'Ah, Draco. You always get the good ones.'

Draco merely raised an eyebrow, not letting his confusion show. He was an expert when it came to masking his features.

'Oh, stop hiding it. You seem to have seduced Miss Granger here quite well.'

He suddenly felt an odd buzzing sensation in his head. Nott didn't seem to notice, but then again, Draco was a very experienced occlumens, and he was trained to notice small things in his surroundings. He didn't say anything, instead choosing to check the walls in his mind. They were fine. He would just need to watch what he said, in case someone was somehow listening. He focused on the conversation again.

'Stop being an idiot, Theo.'

'Oh? So Granger's single? Does that mean I can take her out? Maybe we could even…' he said, smirking suggestively.

Sweet Salazar. The nerve of this bastard was astounding.

'Shut up, Nott.'

'Oh, touched a nerve, have I, Draco? Why's that? What's stopping me from going over and asking for a date?'

Oh Hufflepuff no. That idiot was not even going to get a chance to ask Granger _that _question.

'Granger's taken. By me.'

* * *

**A/N**

**I love Draco. Leave a review!  
**

**Airborne Kites ;)**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N**

**Hello my beautiful readers! How are you? Thank you so so so much for all the positive reviews. I literally cannot thank you enough. They make my day, honestly. So here's another chapter :)  
**

* * *

Chapter 20

'Granger's taken. By me.' Malfoy's voice rang loud and clear through the sphere they were standing in.

Ron looked at Malfoy and Nott incredulously through the golden lights. He stopped the hearing spell, leaving the invisibility sphere intact.

'What in the name of Merlin's bloody pants does he think he's talking about?'

When no reply came from Hermione, he turned to face her.

'Hermione? _Please _tell me he's made up some stupid Slytherin lie.'

The desperation in his blue eyes almost made her laugh. Almost. As it was, the situation at hand didn't call for much laughter. Was she meant to go along with what he said? Let everyone think they were going out? Or was she only meant to make Nott think they were. Could she tell Harry and Ron? She let out a frustrated groan, bringing her hands up to her face.

'Hermione? He's lying, right?' Harry sounded so desperate.

She brought her hands down again, looking at the utterly confused faces of her best friends. What was that saying again? The one her parents used to tell her? Oh, right. Honesty is the best policy.

'Harry? Ron? I think I need to tell you a few things.'

Ron looked like he was about to faint.

'Oh please Merlin don't let her say what I think she's about to say.'

'I'm not going out with Malfoy, Ron!'

His face instantly relaxed and he placed his head in his hands.

'Thank Merlin. Thank Merlin.' Then he looked up at her. 'Wait. When you said you need to tell us something…'

He turned to Harry and they seemed to have a conversation using solely their eyes. Hermione, who was very familiar with this sort of thing, huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

'Are you quite done with your eye conversation yet?'

They both turned to her, Ron looking slightly green. He gestured to Harry, who seemed to be trying to maintain a cool façade.

'What is wrong with you two?'

'Hermione. Er… are you, by any chance, um, pregnant?'

'What?! Are you two out of your bloody minds? What on _earth _possessed you to ask me that?'

Ron sagged in relief once again, thanking Merlin under his breath. So Harry chose to reply, knowing their friend was busy basking in relief.

'Sorry. It was just a horrible thought. We had to ask. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell us?'

'I have a _lot _that I need to tell you, and I will tell you, after this meeting's over. I'll meet you two in Harry's office in around fifteen minutes, alright?'

Harry looked very curious to know what his best friend was hiding. Ron, too, looked curious.

'You know that you can tell us anything, right? We promise not to judge.'

'Ron, I promise you I am not pregnant. I'll explain everything to you in Harry's office. See you in fifteen, okay?'

They nodded in response, and Ron brought down the ball of light surrounding them.

'Fifteen minutes, Hermione! We're counting!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**DPOV**

'Oh? Really? And you failed to mention this because…?' Theo asked with a raised eyebrow.

But anger hidden in his icy eyes was seen by the platinum-haired man. He could see that Theo wasn't happily going to accept that a pureblood like Draco Malfoy was courting a muggleborn. But he couldn't openly admit it to him, especially after having said that he was 'interested' in Granger himself.

'Because I didn't need to tell you.'

The dark haired man placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt, just as Draco registered the odd buzzing fading away. _Strange._

'I can't believe that you didn't think you needed to tell such a close friend.'

_Friend. _This man was in no way his _friend. _But of course, he kept this sentiment well hidden.

'No one knows. Don't take it personally.'

_Take it personally and leave, you son of a- _His thoughts were cut off by a certain Granger heading their way. Why did she have to come _now? _He didn't have time to explain to her that she was meant to be his _girlfriend. _And Theo had already seen her, too. Damn. And was that Potter walking away from the room?

'Ah, Granger. I must congratulate you. Draco has only just informed me of your relationship.'

Draco waited for the shock appear on her face. For his lie to be discovered.

'Oh, has he?' she asked politely with a smile, before turning her face towards Draco and smiling at him affectionately. 'He wasn't supposed to tell _anyone._'

Wow. Granger was a good actress. And _very _good at hiding surprise. Impossibly good.

Theo sighed in fake sadness, taking an unnoticeable step towards Granger. But of course, Draco noticed it.

'Such a shame. Draco, you don't deserve a lovely lady like Granger.'

'I'm Draco Malfoy. I deserve the best,' he said with a grin, putting his arm around her shoulders and ignoring the gasps coming from the other occupants of the room.

'Stop being so big-headed, Draco,' Granger told him with a laugh. 'And please excuse us, Nott, we need to finish the meeting.'

_Draco. _It sounded downright weird coming from her.

They walked off, together, towards the table where the three others were having an intent discussion. Theo followed behind.

'Mandy? Penny? Andrew?'

The three in question looked up from their conversation.

'The meeting is over now, if you'd like to leave. Thank you so much for coming to these informal little things, it really does help to have cooperation. Now that we've actually sorted out who we can work with, we probably won't have many meet-ups, just a few. So we'll be corresponding by these green memos, and pop in to our offices any time if you have an idea or need anything. And thank your department heads from us, will you?

'Of course, Hermione. And anyway, it's a great idea, that we can-'

Couldn't Brocklehurst just shut up?

'-later to give some of our ideas-'

He decided to leave and let Granger natter with the annoying Ravenclaw.

'-and what was that little thing over there with Malfoy? Because-'

Wait. He had to stop this conversation right where it was.

'I really do _hate _to interrupt,' he cut in smoothly, drawing the attention of the two women. 'But I'm afraid that myself and Auror Granger have a few things we need to attend to.'

'Of course! Sorry! I'll just be off then. See you round then, Hermione! Bye Malfoy!' And she finally walked out, behind Theo, sending a wink in Granger's direction.

'Oh for Merlin's sake, can't that woman just shut her mouth sometimes?' he complained, when he was sure the attendees were out of earshot.

'Stop being so rude, Malfoy. She can be a bit talkative, but-'

'A bit?'

'Yes.'

'A bit. That's what you call a _bit?_'

'Yes. Anyway. Ron and Harry came round earlier.'

So it _had _been Potter.

'What were they doing here?'

'They were worried.'

'Worried?'

'About your weird cereal attack this morning.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah. So then Ron put this really advanced hearing spell on you-'

So _that's _what the buzzing had been. And it explained how Granger knew he was her 'boyfriend'.

'-and then they heard that I was _taken _by _you._ So now they're extremely worried.'

'Wait. Weasley knows how to do advanced magic?'

She glared at him before shoving him lightly on the shoulder.

'Stop being so mean.'

'My sincerest apologies.'

Groaning, she flopped down into a chair, some loose curls slipping onto her face.

'I have to talk to them in four minutes, Malfoy. What do I do?'

He raised a blond eyebrow in response.

'What do you mean, what do you do?'

'What do I _do?_'

'You tell them, obviously.'

'But how? They're going to be hurt, knowing I've kept something like this from them.'

He sat down in the chair next to her.

'It'll be fine.'

'How're you so sure?'

'Because they're Potter and Weasley. They can't get angry at you if they try.'

'Yes they can.'

'The worst they can do is be upset with you for not letting them know about you getting hurt.'

She sighed.

'I'm not sure.'

'Well I am.'

There was silence as he thought about what he was going to say next. Then he sighed internally. Why did he feel the need to do so much for her?

'I'll explain it to them with you, if you'd like.'

For a moment she said nothing. Was it a bad proposal? Too much? But then she turned her head up towards him, the loose curls falling backwards. The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.

'Thanks, Malfoy.

He said nothing in response, except 'Two and a half minutes, Granger.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

She lifted her hand to knock on the door.

'Harry, Ron, it's me.'

A few seconds later, the door opened, Harry and Ron standing behind it. They smiled at her, before noticing the tall blond man on her left.

'What's _he _doing here?'

'He's going to help me explain.'

'Why can't you explain to us yourself?' Harry demanded as she entered his office, Malfoy walking behind her.

'I can, but with his help.'

'So you _are _going out with him?' he asked, shutting the door behind them, his green eyes filled with confusion.

'No,' she stated firmly. 'I am not going out with Malfoy. However, he is someone I trust and I need him to help me here.'

Harry sighed.

'Fine. Whatever.'

After conjuring up a few comfy chairs, she gestured for them to sit down. They sat slowly, their features growing more and more confused by the minute.

'It's a long story,' she explained. 'Malfoy, you can sit too.'

He shook his head.

'I'm fine standing. You go ahead and sit.'

'I'm fine pacing,' she replied with a small smile.

Ron watched this exchange with a bewildered expression.

'I hope this tale includes how you two became all chummy.'

'Harry, Ron, a lot has happened in the past week, which I've neglected to tell you.'

They nodded slowly. She took a deep breath.

'Monday last week, I went to Diagon Alley to buy Crookshanks' medicine. I was an idiot, I didn't check properly-'

'You weren't being an idiot. You couldn't have known what to expect,' Malfoy interrupted from the corner.

'Yes I could. I'm an auror, and it was evening. I should've been more cautious.'

'No one would have expected something to happen.'

He looked straight at her when he said it, and there was an odd look in his steel eyes which just made her feel all weird. _Focus, Hermione._

'Can someone tell me what actually happened?' said Ron, looking between them.

'I was attacked.'

A short, humourless laugh came from the corner. 'I don't think it's classed simply as _attack, _Granger.' He turned to Harry and Ron. 'She was tortured.'

Did he _have _to make it worse?

'Tortured?! Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you! _Merlin. _Are you okay now? How hurt were you?' A stream of questions and confusion came pouring out of Ron's mouth.

'I know I should've told you. But I was so scared you'd do something rash. I didn't want to tell anyone.'

Ron nodded before frowning and looking at Malfoy.

'But you did.'

'Yes. I did. And I can explain. I managed to apparate home and heal myself mostly-'

'Mostly? How badly were you hurt, Hermione?' Harry asked, looking very concerned.

'Um, well, it wasn't too bad.'

Harry looked extremely sceptical. 'So you were _tortured, _but the injuries weren't _too bad?_'

'For Merlin's sake, Granger, stop glossing over everything.'

Malfoy walked over and turned to face Harry and Ron.

'I'll tell you the rest.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**RON POV**

'How badly was she hurt, Malfoy?' Harry asked once again.

'No serious external injuries except for a broken wrist. However the amount of torture curses she was subjected to almost killed her.'

'How do you know for sure?' Ron didn't want to believe it had been so bad.

'I watched the memory in a penseive. Nott and Goyle left her for dead.'

Hermione had almost died last week. She had almost died.

'Fuck.' he said quietly, running a hand through his red hair.

How could they have let this happen? Let Hermione almost _die? _They should have been there to protect her. She had suffered because they hadn't fucking been there with her. She had almost died.

'Ron,' Hermione said softly, coming to stand by him. 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But it's _not your fault._ It's not your fault that I went out. These things happen sometimes.'

He turned to face her.

'No they don't. Your best friend doesn't get attacked and almost _die _sometimes.'

'Well we're not exactly a normal trio. We've been dodging death since first year, Ron.'

'Yes, but we've always been together,' spoke Harry, who was also stood up, the same worry and anguish on his face.

'You couldn't have changed the fact that Nott turned out to be evil! It's not your fault. _Please _try to understand this.'

'But it's my fault that I wasn't there,' said Harry, quietly.

'No it's not, Harry,' Hermione told him in a firm voice. 'And don't you dare think it is. You too, Ron.'

Ron wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, kissing her forehead before sighing, calming himself down.

'Fine. It's not my fault. But please, please, Hermione. Don't keep these things from us.'

'I won't ever again. Promise.'

He let her go, allowing Harry a chance to hug her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**DPOV**

He stood watching the trio. Friendship like that couldn't exist. Was it even possible?

* * *

**A/N**

**Poor Draco :( **

**By the way, Ron has no romantic intentions towards Hermione. He used to, but they're just VERY close. And Harry tends to not be as vocal as Ron, which is why he was quieter. He was busy having an internal battle with himself.**

**Please leave a review!**

**Airborne Kites :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N**

**Another chapter here!  
**

**I'd just like to say, I have no intention of abandoning this story whatsoever. I know it takes me a while to update, but you can be sure that I'm going to finish this. I've been busy, but I'm trying my hardest to keep up! So I'm sorry this chapter's so short, but more are on the way!**

* * *

Chapter 21

Draco quickly and silently left the room, feeling distinctly uncomfortable watching the emotional trio. It was too much for him, and he felt like an imposter watching them.

He walked into his office, locked his door, and sat down in his leather office chair. He had purchased it himself, having not wanted to use the cheap, scruffy Ministry ones. Being rich was wonderful, sometimes. He reclined in the comfortable material, trying to rest. How many days had it been since he had actually relaxed? How many days had he been busy worrying about Granger, or about Theo becoming an evil git? Too long.

But he couldn't relax if he tried. If he closed his eyes, Granger's terrified expression would appear behind his closed eyelids. If he tried to block out any sounds, Granger's strong voice spoke in his head. If he tried to focus only on his own body in his surroundings, he could feel her warm body leaning against his.

Merlin. He was too worried about her. He needed to stop worrying himself. She had Potter and Weasley now. She didn't need him anymore. Which was great. He didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to check on her. He didn't need to make sure she wasn't wandering alone somewhere. He didn't need to force her to eat any more.

It was perfect, really. Except… It wasn't. He was still so damn worried. Which was inevitable, of course. He had worked as her partner for two years. He had taken care of her when she had needed it. So obviously, he would be worried. Aurors were meant to get worried about their partners, after all. This was definitely the only reason he was all worked up.

He closed his eyes anyway, knowing that he would savour anything even close to rest. A light slumber overtook his body, but hazy images were still swirling around the forefront of his mind.

The images began changing all of a sudden, though. Granger appeared in his dream, the clarity of her features astounding. Her mouth opened, letting out a pained scream. A scream that woke him up with a start. Her face vanished. The dreams stopped. But the scream didn't. It went on.

_Oh sweet Merlin, Granger!'_

He ran out of his office, tearing through the crowd of people listening through Potter's door, trying to find the source of the sound. He pulled his wand out of his robe pockets while shoving through the aurors gathered there.

'Let me through, for Merlin's sake!' he shouted. 'Potter! Let me in! I need to come in!'

The door was flung open and he was yanked through before it shut again behind him. In front of him was a very distraught Weasley, holding a screaming Granger in his arms. He looked helplessly up at Draco, who ran towards the brunette as Potter.

'Granger? Granger? It's alright! It's just a curse! No one's hurting you! It's just a curse!'

He grabbed her out of Weasley's arms, shaking her a bit.

'Granger! Come on! Fight the bloody curse!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

_Pain. _Pain was all she felt, coursing through her very being. More than the cruciatus. More than a streak of purple fire. What curse it was, she didn't know, but it was definitely_ more. _Why was she back under Nott's wand? Had he caught her again? But she had been in Harry's office. What had happened since then? Had they erased her memory? But she had no time to dwell as another curse streaked through her blood, causing her fingers and toes to curl in pain.

_Come on Hermione. Get through it. Just like last time. It will finish. Just like last time. You'll go home. Just like last time. _

She couldn't focus on her little mantra. Needles seemed to be appearing around her body, inside and out. And it hurt so much. Too much. Why couldn't she just lose consciousness already? Why wasn't it stopping? Her throat hurt too, yet she kept screaming her lungs out. Why her?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**DPOV**

_Oh Merlin Merlin Merlin what do I do?_

He looked at the screaming woman in his arms. Her eyes were glazed over but she kept screaming. Her fingers and toes were curling, her nails cutting into her skin. Why couldn't he do something? Why couldn't he remember any information from his library?

'Malfoy?' Potter shouted at him over the screams, anguish visible in his eyes. 'Do you know what to do? What curse this is? Please, help! Please!'

Weasley and Potter looked terrified. They were both stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. Shouts came from outside the locked door, causing the three men to turn. Weasley instantly threw a silencing charm on the room.

Draco turned his attention back to Granger. The curse. It was a hallucination curse. And it used her wand.

'It's a hallucination curse!' He was shouting over her piercing sounds. 'It involves her wand. Have you got any anti hallucinogenics?'

Potter stumbled towards his cabinet, and grabbed a green bottle, which he chucked over to Draco. The blond caught it out of the air before checking the label. It needed a spell too, in order to work against the strong magic. The potion wasn't enough. As if he had read his thoughts, Weasley shouted out.

'I know the spell.'

Draco nodded, trying to hold the now thrashing Granger still. He began pouring the potion in as Weasley shouted the spell.

'_Finite Somniatis!_'

Granger immediately stopped thrashing and screaming, although her pained expression remained. The three men all sagged in relief as the shrill noises stopped and her breathing began to even out. The relief could literally be felt in the air. Weasley's shoulders were shaking as he placed his head in his hands. Potter was staring at the ground with an indescribable look of pain on his features.

Draco simply sat holding Granger, staring at her now closed eyes. His brain felt as if it was going to shut down at any moment. His ears were ringing. He wanted Granger to wake up. But her body needed to wake itself up. It needed a little time to regain some strength. So minutes passed in silence, all three men sitting on the floor, and all three of them looking a right state.

It was all too much. He couldn't not worry about her. In such a short time, she had become the first thing on his mind. He was always worried about her. And to see her in such a state, it had shaken him. Shaken him to the very core. Things didn't often shake Draco Malfoy to the core. But this had. Seeing her glazed eyes, her curling fingers, her parted lips. Trying to stop it but not being able to. Trying to calm her down, but not being able to make her notice.

He took a deep breath, scraping his hair back. Too much. It was all too much.

'Uhh- ug...'

His brain registered the movement of her lips. Potter and Weasley looked up immediately, before crawling over to her. Crawling. It seemed that their brains weren't functioning properly either, after all the screaming.

'Hermione?'

She made another noise in response to the raven-haired man. Draco raised his wand over her, a movement which startled the two men in front of him. They tried to shield Granger.

'I'm only trying to give her some water,' he growled at them, snatching her back away from them.

'_Aguamenti minimus.'_

A trickle of water appeared, and he raised her head slightly to pour water into her mouth.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

Ah. Water. It was so soothing to her poor throat. It was like a divine nectar, the sweet taste making her almost forget the pain from minutes ago. Almost. Maybe she could open her eyes now? Even if Nott was there, she couldn't do anything about it. She ached too much. _So I might as well open them._

It was hazy at first, all she could see was blurry outlines. Oh Merlin. She was surrounded by figures. Waiting to kill her probably. One touched her hand, which she instantly recoiled, using energy she didn't know she had.

_No more pain. No._

'Granger?'

A voice. Oh no. Please no more pain. Please. She let out a strangled sound and tried to move away from where she was. She tried to crawl but didn't get very far, as strong arms lifted her right back. _Please, no._

Her eyes began to adjust, and she saw the weirdest colour combination above her. Red, Black, and a golden silver colour. What was it? A spell?

They adjusted further, showing her that it wasn't a spell, but three human heads. Heads that she was very well acquainted with.

'Ma- l- foy? H- Har-ry? R-R-on? ' she croaked.

She heard sighs of relief.

'She recognises us. Thank Merlin. Granger, where do you hurt?'

What kind of a question was that? She hurt _everywhere. _There was no place that didn't hurt on her body.

'E- Ev-'

She began coughing. Too much talking.

More water was poured down her throat. _Ah. _She tried again.

'Every...W- where.'

She suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground, and being held tightly against someone's chest. Was it Malfoy? If it was, he had a _very _nice way of carrying people. She had to tell him that one day. She heard murmurs around her. What were they saying? She tried to catch a few words.

'-apartment-'

'-apparition-'

'-know the-'

'-hard-'

Then she was being squeezed. Hard, through a rubber tube. She gasped on feeling the pressure on her sore bones.

'Sorry about that. No more pain. I promise.'

He had promised. No more pain. Thank God. Everything would be fine from then on. After all, a promise was a promise.

* * *

**A/N**

**Please please please leave a review!:)  
**

**Airborne Kites;)**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N**

**Another chapter here, guys! Thank you so much for all your support, I've got over 200 follows! I know that to some people, that's not a lot, but it means so much to me! Also, I'm so so sorry for my terrible updating. I have so much work now, and it's going to be very hard to write, so updates are slow. I do post on my profile how often I'm updating, so check there if you want to know! **

**Anyway, on with le chapter... :)**

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Chapter 22

**DPOV**

He couldn't understand why he was so worried about Granger all the time. This was definitely getting beyond colleague level. Why was he still sitting in her apartment? In her guest room? Why hadn't he started packing as soon as Potter and Weasley had found out?

'Malfoy? What're you doing in the guest room?'

He looked up from his thoughts to see Weasley entering the room and stopping dead in his tracks, before looking around. Then he groaned.

'You _live _here now?'

Draco raised a blond eyebrow. Wow. No shouting?

'I'm surprised you haven't exploded yet, Weasley.' He couldn't resist the urge to test this man's patience.

Weasley ignored his comment.

'How long have you been staying here?'

'Thursday.'

The red-head muttered something to himself.

'Is there anything else Hermione hasn't told us?'

'Don't think so.'

There was a slight pause before Weasley decided to speak again.

'Malfoy is living in Hermione's apartment. In Hermione's apartment. The world has officially gone fucking mental.'

And he walked out of the room, shaking his head.

Was that all? No explosions? No shouting? Perhaps Weasley _had _grown up.

He grabbed the book on curses from his library. Might as well get some more research done on Granger's curse.

He had been reading for ten minutes before he came across a bit of important information which could be useful to Granger.

A flash of light outside the window caught his eye, and he stood up from the bed to investigate. A large cat patronus came soaring through the glass, before gliding past him and through the door. He immediately followed it into Granger's room.

'Potter! Weasley! Minister's patronus!'

They came rushing in after him, and the three of them stood watching the bright lynx.

'_There has been an attack on the ministry. Deatheaters have returned. This is an urgent call for all aurors. Deatheaters have returned.'_

And it dissipated, leaving them dumbstruck.

'We need to go. Now.'

Draco looked up, surprised at hearing Granger. When had she awoken? She was half-sitting up in her bed, her eyes alert, and wide in shock.

'Granger. Go back to sleep. You can't handle this right now.'

'Don't tell me what I can and can't handle, Malfoy,' she snapped. 'I'm an auror. This is my job. I won't sit by if the safety of millions is in danger.'

'Hermione-'

'Shut up, Harry. I'm going. If you were me, you'd go, and no one would question it. I rode a dragon after being tortured by Bellatrix, didn't I?' She didn't wait for their responses before carrying on. 'I'm a capable auror who's been injured before. I've already fought a war, and I'm going to do my best to make sure another one doesn't start.'

She stood up and grabbed her temporary wand, before summoning a pain-relief potion and downing it.

'Wait! Nott might use the hallucination spell on you again!'

She hesitated for a second. 'I'll risk it.' And she disapparated with a _crack._

The three men stood, gaping, at the spot she had been standing in.

'Oh fuck,' Draco groaned before disapparating to the ministry after her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

Her aching bones protested at having been put through the uncomfortable feeling of apparition. She gritted her teeth and ignored the pain, hoping the potion would begin to take effect soon. She didn't even know if it would work. Because although her body hurt, the torture curses had been mental, rather than physical. And so the pain-relief potion wouldn't effect much, especially if the pain was all in her mind.

A flash of light streaked past her, narrowly missing her head. She quickly put up a shield charm before assessing the situation before her.

The lobby was in chaos; Aurors were duelling silver-masked deatheaters, ministry workers were either fighting or running, and the noise was unbelievable.

'_Stupefy! Stupefy! Incarcerous!'_

She tended to try not to kill. After all, these were just people who had made the wrong decisions. They could change. Just like Malfoy had. And how was she any better than them if she used unforgivables? She used a locomotus hover charm to send the four deatheaters into the questioning rooms, where they couldn't escape.

A green spell came soaring towards her and she jumped out of the way, stunning a few more silver-masked people in the process. Merlin, this was bad. There were so many of them. When had they started to reunite? She was pretty sure that there were almost as many now as there had been during the Battle of Hogwarts. Anyway, there was no time to question it.

Three loud cracks sounded around her, and Malfoy, Harry, and Ron suddenly appeared, wand out.

'Granger! Just stop for one second!'

She paid no attention to Malfoy, who suddenly appeared next to her, duelling fiercely.

'I've got something that will help the curse! I swear! You can come right back to fight. You won't be much use to the ministry if you're being tortured in your mind!'

She deflected a few more spells before nodding. 'Fine! But I'm coming right back!'

She felt him grab her arm, and once more she was being squeezed through the rubber tube of apparition.

They appeared a moment later in Malfoy's office, panting slightly from the intense duelling.

'For fuck's sake, Granger. Are you trying to get yourself killed?'

'No, I'm doing my job,' she replied curtly. 'I don't have time for this. Hurry up and tell me what you need to tell me.'

'If someone connects with your mind, then they can help stop the hallucinations. It's like leglimency, except it just enforces the barricades around your mind. It's not permanent, and you only have to do it for a short period of time.'

'So the other person has to be a relatively good occlumens then?'

'Yes.'

'So can you do it?'

Malfoy looked a bit taken aback. 'Why not Potter and Weasley?'

'Because they are both _terrible _at occlumency. And you're here right now, so it's more convenient if we just get it over and done with.' She was getting impatient. 'Hang on. If I'm a good occlumens already, why can't I just block it out myself?'

'Because it's dark magic aimed at _your _mind. With _your _wand. And therefore, it's much harder for you to resist it, because although you're a _good _occlumens, you're not quite experienced enough to be able to resist something like that.'

'So it's not impossible to resist it?'

'Not impossible, no.'

'But I need someone's help?'

'Yes. Like I said.'

'So will you do it then?'

'Fine. It's quicker if I do, anyway, like you said.' He raised his wand. '_Concilus!'_

She felt a weird, rushing sensation through her mind.

'It's not a mind communication system unless you want it to be. I can't read your thoughts, but I _can _talk to you through this connection. So it will be useful in combat too.'

'Right. Thanks. Let's go, then.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**DPOV**

Draco ran back into the lobby with Granger, shooting spells as he went. A killing curse narrowly missed his head, and he spun around to see Macnair standing behind him.

'Ah, Draco. Lovely to see you again. Shame I'm going to kill you, though. _Avada-'_

The blond deflected it with ease, and disarmed the deatheater with a mere flick of his wrist. 'Still terrible at defence, then? _Stupefy!'_

Three deatheaters came running towards him, wand out.

'_Stupefy! Flipendo! Petrificus Totalus!'__  
_

He could handle three. Simple.

_Malfoy! Behind you! _

He registered Granger's voice in his head before quickly ducking to avoid the onslaught of curses coming his way. Shit. There were around twenty headed for him. He wasn't so confident about twenty. Ten, maybe. But not twenty.

'_Stupefy! Stupefy! Incarcerous! Immobulus!'_

Spells flew at him too fast. He couldn't deflect all of them. Not all of these unforgivables. A cruiciatus curse hit him in the chest, causing his knees to buckle slightly and his shield to falter, allowing a few more curses to hit him. Damn. He was going to die if he couldn't resist it. _Come on. Resist it. _He gritted his teeth against the pain, but it was too much. He was pretty sure that his legs were going to give away in a few seconds. He really didn't want to die right now.

'_Confringo!' _

Granger. Thank fucking Merlin for Granger.

The wall behind the deatheaters collapsed onto them, leaving only a few standing. The brunette witch ran in front of him, deflecting every spell they shot at her.

'_Expulso! Locomotor Mortis!'_

He stood up slowly, knowing Granger had him covered for now. He hurt a bit, but he'd be alright.

'You alright, Malfoy?' Granger called as she duelled.

'Nothing too serious. Can you handle these guys?'

'Yep. Go to the bunch Harry's duelling. There're too many for him there.'

He ran towards Potter, who was struggling against a crowd of them.

'_Expulso! Petrificus Totalus!' Confringo!'_

Bursts of light shot from his wand as he ran to Potter, who shot him a grateful look.

'Thanks.'

'No problem.'

'_Incendio!' _came a shout from none other than Vincent Crabbe. Draco groaned internally. Why did Crabbe have an obsession with fire? And when had he gone back over to the deatheaters?

'_Aguamenti!' _he shouted, stopping the flames. '_Stupefy!'_

It seemed as though they were never ending. Every time one fell, another came to take their place. How were there so many? How? They didn't even have Voldemort this time!

'_Incendio! Langlock!'_

He sent a wave of fire, forcing their ranks to retreat slightly. The fact that some deatheaters now had their tongues stuck to the roof if their mouths helped too. Perhaps it was time to call Granger. The two of them couldn't handle so many alone.

_Granger? Are you free? _He deflected a killing curse.

She took a while to respond.

_Not exactly. Why?_

_We need help. _He shot a few more stunning spells.

_Okay. Give me thirty seconds._

_Bring Weasley too, if you see him. _Another body bind.

_Will do._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

Hermione shot another few stunning spells, finishing up a group of them. Gosh, they were never-ending! She quickly tied them up and sent them to the interrogation rooms before running towards Harry and Malfoy, who were fighting against a huge crowd.

'Ron!' she called, spotting him next to the fountain.

He looked up for a second before stunning the deatheater in front of him and running towards her.

'Need help?'

'Malfoy and Harry do.'

He nodded, following her towards the crowd. 'We'll distract them from a different side. It'll give Harry and Malfoy a better advantage.'

They hurried to the back of the crowd, sending hexes and curses as they went, causing half of the ranks to turn on them. She recognised so many faces. Crabbe, Goyle, Bulstrode, Macnair, Scabier. How had they managed to unite without anyone realising?

'_Confingo!' _she pointed to the chandelier above them, causing the glass and metal to shatter over the crowd. Ron quickly brought up a protection spell to prevent the shards form hurting them.

They worked their way into the crowd, reducing it significantly now that all four of them were working together. They were soon standing with Harry and Malfoy, duelling furiously.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione easily slipped into a pattern when fighting together. They had fought together for so long, they were just used to each other's weaknesses and strength.

'Ron! Behind you!'

'Hermione! Right side!

'Harry, duck!'

'Hermione, there's someone aiming for the ankles!'

'Ron, some on your left!'

Hermione suddenly realised that Malfoy was duelling on his own, and headed towards him.

'Malfoy! On your left!'

'Duck, Granger!

'_Protego! Stupefy!_ Malfoy, I'll cover here!'

'Granger! Behind you!'

They moved around each other, duelling together as if it was a dance. A fast, furious dance.

Suddenly, Theodore Nott appeared in front of them smirking. Hermione faltered slightly, causing Malfoy to have to push her out of the way of a curse.

'Granger! Forget him! Focus!'

'_Immobulus! Confundus! Flipendo!'__  
_

Nott blocked them easily, before retaliating. '_Crucio! Sectumsempa! Serpensortia! Morsemordum!'_

She moved out of the way quickly, avoiding the curses. The last one, however, caused a Dark Mark to come flying right at her, and brushed her arm as she jumped out of the way. A stinging sensation ran through her left arm, before turning into a stronger, burning sensation. She grit her teeth, trying to block out the pain as she cast more spells.

'_Stupefy! Incendio! Avis Oppungo! Reducto!'_

The small birds distracted Nott, attacking him as the statue behind him exploded, its fragments hitting him hard. He winced, his eyes closing, allowing Hermione to stun him. He fell to the floor, and she allowed herself a small smile, forgetting her arm for a second.

But her moment of triumph was cut short. Items were suddenly being thrown at them, before glowing blue and vanishing. _Shit. _They were portkeys.

She started to conjure up a shield, but a coin hit Malfoy just as a fake wand hit Ron, causing both of them to disappear before her very eyes.

* * *

**A/N**

**Please leave a review! I'll write faster if you do!  
**

**Airborne Kites ;)**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N**

**Hello:)  
**

**As always, I'm sorry it takes so long. School is getting serious, and so I have to prioritise between studying and fanfic. Luckily, it's half term so I've had more time to write :D**

**I just realised that since it's Halloween, I should give you a spooky chapter. And then I realised that this chapter is not spooky. And now I'm wondering whether I can incooporate anything spooky into this fic. So my sincerest apologies, but I have nothing scary for you :(**

**Enjoy :)**

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The whole thing was over within a matter of seconds. All the deatheaters immediately began disapparating out of the ministry, leaving a huge mess and a lot of confused aurors behind them. And not only had they kidnapped Malfoy and Ron, they had also managed to take the unconscious Nott with them. Damn them.

Hermione was sitting in front of the ruined fountain, gazing at the mess before her. She was a terrible auror. They had literally done nothing except capture a few deatheaters.

A groan escaped her lips as the pain in her arm flared up once more.

'You sure you don't want the healers to check that?'

'Not yet. There are people who were injured more seriously.'

'You don't know how serious that could be.' Harry argued.

'We need to clean this place up.'

Harry sighed, before sitting down next to her on the seat. 'Is he still not awake?'

'Every time I've tried he's been unconscious.'

She had tried to contact Malfoy using the mind connection, but he wouldn't reply. The little light in her mind, which was the entryway to the connection, kept flickering, showing he was unconscious. She was so worried. Ron meant so much to her. And the weird thing was, she was pretty sure that she was almost equally worried about Malfoy.

'Are the captured deatheaters still unconscious?'

'I tried to get in, but that only the interrogation officers are allowed in right now. It's bullshit.'

'Come on. Let's get go talk to Kingsley.'

'We can't just yet. The aurors are in a meeting about what we should do about the welfare of the country from now on.'

'Shouldn't we be there too then?'

'Dunno. Kingsley didn't call us. No clue why not, but he usually does stuff for a reason.'

She shrugged, not fully paying attention, and stared at the floor, trying to think of how they could find Ron and Malfoy.

Would they be alright? What would the deatheaters do to them? Where would they take them? Where even was the new deatheater base? How could she find them?

Goddamn. There were just so many things to consider.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**DPOV**

_Ouch. _His head felt so heavy, as if he had just downed five bottles of firewhiskey. It was weighing down on his brain, making it hard to think.

'Malfoy? You awake?'

Was that Weasley? Where was he?

'Malfoy?'

He groaned and shook his aching head, trying to work out what was going on.

Oh, Merlin. He had been fucking captured. With Weasley. Oh fuck. Fuckety fuck. Right. First things first. He had to get up.

He slowly sat up before looking at his surroundings. It seemed to be a manky old cell; bleak grey walls with iron bars. Then he looked at the red-haired man sitting on the other side of the cell.

'When did you wake up?'

'A few minutes before you, I reckon. Hasn't been long. Got a fucking migraine though,' Weasley replied.

'Same.'

'All I remember is the portkey hitting me. D'you remember anything else?'

Draco shook his he ad. 'Nothing. Look, we need to get out of here.'

Weasley snorted. 'No shit, Ravenclaw.'

He was about to reply when he felt a strange sensation run through his mind.

_Malfoy?_

The conciling charm. Thank Merlin.

_Granger?_

_Oh thank Godric you're awake. Where are you?_

_No clue. Nott Manor, I'm assuming._

'Malfoy?'

Weasley was watching him with a worried expression.

'I'm talking to Granger, hang on.'

He focused his attention on the link again, not bothered to elaborate.

_Are you and Ron okay?_

_Peachy._

_Seriously, Malfoy._

_We're alright. Both got splitting headaches, but otherwise nothing._

A faint sound was heard outside the cell.

_Shoot. Granger, I think someone's coming._

_Okay, try and find out who it is. Keep me updated on your situation. Tell me all you can about your surroundings. _

_Got it._

'Weasley, someone's coming, so I can't elaborate much on this, but right now I'm able to communicate with Granger in my mind.'

Weasley nodded, his surprised expression quickly covered up with his focused auror expression. 'Alright. Let me know whenever she tells you a plan. While we're in here, we can also find a way to let the auror department surround wherever this is, and capture remaining deatheaters.'

The noise was slowly becoming louder, until he could see a shadowy silhouette outside the cell. The door slowly opened, and someone entered.

'Ah, Draco. How _lovely _to see you again.'

He'd recognise that slimy voice anywhere. Rabastan Lestrange. He'd heard it enough as a child. The git wasn't even related to him, yet always found an excuse to stay in the manor, because apparently being the brother of Bellatrix's husband made him _oh _so close. Malfoy Manor had always been a lot grander than Lestrange Manor, and so Rabastan would always be trying to sneak out expensive artefacts and objects to place in his own manor. And then when questioned about it, he would always claim to have had one too many firewhiskeys again.

'Ah, Lestrange. I suppose you finally get your share of glory, now that everyone who was before you is now either dead or has turned.'

'I always had glory. The dark lord always knew that I was his most faithful. He never _really _trusted your family,' Lestrange spat.

'Of course not, how could I have forgotten. You were always his favourite for the dirty work. My sincerest apologies.'

Draco watched as the man's face contorted in rage, before it changed to a sadistic grin.

'Mock me however you want, Draco. It doesn't change the fact that you're here to die.'

'That's _Malfoy _to you, Lestrange. Regardless of your new status, I will always be superior to you.'

He immediately felt a fist connecting with his jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Pain shot through his skull, and he heard Lestrange say something before the cell door slammed shut.

'Bloody hell, Malfoy. Instead of trying to assess the situation, you've already pissed off a deatheater, who we could have just tried to work round to find a way to escape. And that superiority complex of yours is going to get you killed. It's hard enough to escape already, and you've gone and handicapped yourself.'

He lifted a hand to his slightly purple jaw, prodding it to check for serious injuries, before responding.

'Okay, Weasley. One, deatheaters are already pissed off at me so it doesn't make much difference. Two, we probably couldn't have escaped, as I'm sure they've placed wards on the cell. And three, it's not a _complex. _If you respect yourself fully, it's very hard for others to disrespect you. Self-respect can take you a long way, Weasley. Four, it's hardly a handicap. It's a slightly bruised jaw.'

'Just because you have smartarse answers to everything, it doesn't mean you're right. Pissing them off further doesn't help, no matter what you say. If you had focused on engaging him in a better conversation, perhaps we could have used leglimency on him. Ever think of putting those skills of yours to use? We would have discovered a lot more about this place. But no, you need to put your damned pride before anything else. I understand that self-respect will take you a long way, Malfoy, but what use is it going to be when you're rotting away in a cell, just because you couldn't put it behind you for one bloody second?'

Draco sat silent for a minute, digesting what Weasley had said. Perhaps, just perhaps, Weasley was right? Maybe he did have a brain. Why couldn't he just have put his pride behind him and helped with the escape plan? He almost sighed out loud when he realised that he had to admit that he was wrong to the red-head.

'Fine. I misjudged the situation.'

'Whatever. It's done now. We'll work out a plan regardless. Anyway, Lestrange said he'd see us later on today. I've a feeling we're going to be taken to a meeting with all of the remaining deatheaters. Keep a lookout for anyone, or anything, you recognise.'

Well he'd be damned. Weasley was an extremely focused auror.

'Ok. Let me tell Granger.'

He delved into his mind, finding the connecting light.

_Granger?_

_Who came? What did they say?_

_Lestrange. I think we're going to some sort of meeting later on._

_Damn. Did you find out anything else?_

She didn't need to know why they hadn't gotten any more information, did she? There was no reason for her to know about how he had responded, and then how he had practically been told off later.

_Nope. That was all he mentioned._

_Right. Okay. We're trying to do all that we can. But we need to talk to Kingsley. I'll try and talk before the meeting. I have to go to Kingsley now._

'Weasley? Her and Potter are going to speak to Kingsley.'

'About what?'

'She didn't say.'

'Probably about our location and stuff. I'm starving.'

'Same.'

'When d'you think they'll bring food?'

'I doubt they will, to be honest.'

'Well fuck them.'

Draco chuckled. Maybe Weasley wasn't that bad. Not that he was going to tell him that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**HPOV**

'Listen, I know Ron and Malfoy are very important aurors, but right now our most important goal is to ensure that the rest of Britain is going to be safe from the new deatheater army. All of the other aurors are being sent out across the country to set up defences and protection. I'm afraid the earliest official rescue mission can only happen in a few days.'

'A few _days_? We don't know what could happen to Ron and Malfoy in that time!'

'I know, but as Minister I can't be partial to two aurors and launch an _official _investigation.'

Kinsley looked almost hopeful as he spoke? Why was he hopeful? And why did he keep emphasising the word official? Then it hit her. She remembered what Harry had said earlier, about Kingsley doing things for a reason.

'Kingsley. Harry and I would like to take a holiday from work.'

Harry turned to face her in surprise, opening his mouth to speak. She shot him a look and he shut it again, but gave her a questioning look.

Kingsley was trying to hide a grin as he frowned at them. 'Well, I must say that it's quite a selfish time to take a holiday, but I have to grant you your leave, as your employer. However, if this war becomes serious and more threatening, you have no choice but to come, under the rules of auror duties. Is there any way I can convince you to take your days off some other time?'

'Sorry, can't. See you later.'

She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him out of the minister's office.

'Come on. We'll disapparate from my office.'

She hurried through the corridors, heading towards the lift.

'Hermione, wh-'

She knew what she had to say to make him understand and not question her. Just after The Battle of Hogwarts, the three of them had made a code in order to convey something they hadn't wanted anyone to know. They had carried on using it as aurors, and it had proved quite useful.

'Don't you remember our plans, Harry?' She pressed the button and the lift doors opened to let them in.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he recognised the sentence, before nodding and grinning at her as they stepped out onto the auror level.

'Of course. How could I have forgotten?'

She almost groaned. Harry's acting skills were abysmal. She pushed open her office door and opened her desk drawer before lifting out some documents.

'Do you have anything in your office which you might want to take?'

'Nope.'

'Come on then. My apartment. Meet you there.'

He nodded, and she shut her eyes to focus on her apartment living room before she turned on the spot and vanished with a _crack._

* * *

**A/N**

**Leave a review, and HAPPY HALLOWEEEN :)  
**

**AK ;)**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N**

**I know I haven't updated in like over a month, but things have become so busy in school! I'm trying my hardest now that it's the holidays. I know I apologise in almost every chapter for updating late, but I'm sorry once again anyway. Hope this makes up for it. **

* * *

Chapter 24

They appeared in her living room after being pushed through the unpleasant feeling of disapparition.

'So what's your plan then? We haven't used that code in a while.'

She walked over to the kitchen and pulled some vials out of a drawer.

'Kingsley said we couldn't launch an _official_ investigation. So we're launching an unofficial one. He wanted to help, but if other senior members of the ministry had heard anything about it, he could be accused of picking favourites while the country is in danger.' She pulled the old beaded bag from the peg it had been hanging on.

'But Ron and Malfoy are very senior aurors. Surely saving them would be _better _for the ministry.'

'But there's not enough time to put their lives before the whole country's safety. So we're going to find them instead.'

'Politics is so dumb.'

She turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, bag in one hand. 'If the whole country was in risk, and two aurors had been captured, and one of them was _not _your best friend, would you approve of a ministry investigation?'

Harry looked down at his feet. 'No.'

'Exactly. Now go to the spare room and get the emergency kit from the wardrobe.'

Harry walked out, leaving her with her beaded bag and some vials of dittany. It was like she was reliving what had happened only four years ago. Holding the worn purple beaded bag in one hand, and a vial of dittany in another, the memories came flooding back. The horcrux hunting, the stress, the fights, the triumph. There was so much. And she had a weird sense that she would have to go through it all again now.

Hermione shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She had to get it all sorted out. She placed the dittany in the bag before summoning a few things from around the kitchen. Canned food, a knife, some matches, a portable radio. Small things which they'd need if the rescue took a long time, which she was sure it would.

Crookshanks walked into the kitchen, meowing at her with a frown on his grumpy face. She scooped him up into her arms, stroking him to calm him down.

'Why're you upset, Crookshanks?'

The cat yowled.

'Yes, I'm going somewhere. And you probably need to come with me.'

That was another thing. She needed to work out how she was going to take Crookshanks along with her. He couldn't apparate with them every time. Especially in times of emergency, he would require too much effort. Putting him in the bag would mean the possible destruction of everything else in there. She _could _transfigure a cat house and place that in the bag too, but it would become _so_ heavy.

'This it?' Harry walked into the kitchen holding a small red kit with a cross on it. 'Why does the kit have the muggle first aid symbol on it?'

She took it and placed it into the bag with everything else. 'Because I got it from a muggle shop.'

Crookshanks took this moment to jump onto Harry, who began stroking him absentmindedly, before answering her. 'We're using muggle first aid on this rescue mission? I don't think it will help that much against curse wounds, Hermione.'

'Do you think I'm dense Harry?'

Harry grinned and leant against the counter. 'Yep.'

She wacked his arm, trying to frown at him but letting out a laugh anyway. It felt good, letting go of the stress for a minute. 'I put magical and muggle stuff in the kit. It all comes in handy when you need it. You'd be surprised at how many dark wizards overlook muggle medicine and first aid when they invent their curses.'

'No I wouldn't. I track them down for a living.'

She was only half-listening, peering into the bag. 'Go get yourself and Ron some spare clothes. I think I've got some of yours in the spare room drawer. And get some of Malfoy's stuff too.'

Wait. Did they even know about Malfoy living with her? She looked up in alarm, but Harry didn't look surprised. They had probably found out after her hallucination attack thing.

Harry left the kitchen once again, to the guest room, whilst Hermione walked over to Crookshanks. She summoned a small box and transfigured it into a room of some sort for her cat, before placing said cat into it and putting it into the bag. She then went to her bedroom, ready to pack everything else that was needed. She quickly summoned the things she needed, placing them quickly in the beaded bag. Just one final thing.

'_Accio tent!'_

Three bundles came zooming towards her from different parts of the apartment. One small muggle one, one large muggle one, and a magical one. She packed the magical one, and large muggle one just in case. All done. She walked to her living room and began rummaging through her cabinet while calling Harry.

'Harry!'

'Yeah?'

'You done?'

'Just a sec!'

She emptied out almost everything from her potions cabinet into the significantly heavier purse just as Harry came back into the living room carrying four rucksacks. She summoned them out of his arms and into the bag.

'Right then, where should we go?'

'The base will probably be in an isolated area, so nowhere near London, I'd say.'

'Malfoy Manor's in Wiltshire. I wouldn't call that too isolated.'

'Oh yeah. Well they won't be too close to Scotland, because Hogwarts has really strong detective wards.'

'Would they go near their old base or use a completely new one?'

'I don't think they'd go too near Malfoy Manor again.'

'But that might be what they want us to think.'

There was silence as both aurors thought about where it could be located.

'Hang on. You and Ron work out stuff like areas of crime around Britain don't you.'

'Yeah.'

'And I've been working on finding remaining deatheaters. So if we try and put our information together, maybe we could get a rough idea?'

'Why don't I ever think of these things?'

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**DPOV**

The silence was getting on Draco's nerves. He could hear a quiet _drip, drip, drip _of a water leak somewhere outside the dark cell. Wizards had a bit of a thing for dramatics, as he had come to realise. Over the past few years, he had learnt a bit about the muggle world, mostly due to Granger. Muggle buildings didn't tend to have dungeons underneath them, whilst almost every large wizard building did. Also, whilst muggles had wars over land and riches, they hardly ever had a 'light' and a 'dark' side. There was one particular word which Granger often called the wizarding world under her breath. Medieval. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but it didn't sound positive to him. Especially since it had the word _evil _in it.

'How long d'you reckon we've been here?' Weasley asked.

'Three, four hours maybe?'

'I think you should try and talk to Hermione again. Because in another hour or so we'll be taken to the _meeting_.'

Draco nodded and closed his eyes. They didn't need to be shut, but it would be a bit awkward to be staring straight at Weasley whilst communicating with Granger. He focused on the link in his mind, calling Granger through it. A moment later, she responded.

_Everything alright?_

_Except for the fact that we're stuck in a deatheater cell with no defence, yes._

_No one's come down again? _

_No one since Lestrange. Have you got a plan yet?_

_I've got everything packed to come and find you. It could take days, depending on how well we can work out your location. _

_How're you working it out?_

_I'm using our data from finding remaining aurors with Harry and Ron's data on finding bases to see any links. Around half of them have really close matches. From what I can see, you're somewhere in Wales. Probably around the South, or close to the English border._

_They've taken us to goddamn Wales?_

_I think so. I have to say, it was a good decision on their part. Wales is fairly empty compared to England, and no one would've thought of it as an obvious choice. _

_I think I'm part Welsh._

He could hear the laugh in her mind. _Great to know, Malfoy. I think I am, too._

_When do you think you'll be leaving then?_

_In the next hour probably._

_Keep us updated then._

_Will do. Send me a quick message as soon as someone else comes along. Don't try to have a conversation. They might notice._

_Alright. Bye._

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**HPOV**

She felt like she was hanging up a muggle telephone when she shut the connection with Malfoy.

'What did he say?'

'Nothing's happened so far.'

'How's Ron?'

'They're both fine. Malfoy didn't mention any extra injuries.'

'That's good.' Harry stood up off the couch. 'Shall we leave then?'

She looked around. There was nothing she was forgetting. They were ready to go. Yet she had this feeling that she wouldn't be back here for a while. That this attack was going to become a full on war.

'Yeah, let's leave.' She stood up and joined Harry at the apparition spot. 'Capel Isaac, then?'

Capel Isaac was a small place in Wales, in the county of Llandeilo. It was North of the larger towns in Wales, yet not too far North. They were going to see if they could trace any magical signatures around it.

'Yep. Capel Isaac it is. You ever been to Wales, Hermione?'

'I used to go a fair bit when I was younger. One of my aunts lives there, and some of my cousins. You've never been there, have you?'

'Nope.' Harry pointed his wand at the stacks of paper at the table, summoning some of them. One of them was a picture of a place in Capel Isaac. 'Focus on this, and then side-along apparition.'

Hermione nodded, grasping his arm. She looked around her apartment one last time before focusing on the picture before her.

'Three, two, one!'

Holding each other tight, they disapparated. The outer side of Hermione's arm flared in pain as they twisted through the uncomfortable rubber tube of apparition. She screamed, feeling a fire burning over her arm as they twisted through darkness.

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**A/N**

**I'll be updating the next one sooner than you think;)  
**

**Please review,**

**AK :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**

**Merry late Christmas! I hope you all had a lovely time! Deck the halls!  
**

**I don't usually do this type of thing, but for those of you who like Doctor Who, pay attention! There's a wonderful author called Whouffle-Shipper-Forever, who writes Harry Potter and Doctor Who. They've written separate stories for each, as well as crossovers. Personally, I'm not a Whovian, but even then I think their fics are great. So Whovians, please go check out the author! Also, people who like the idea of Fremione, you go there too!**

**[Disclaimer: I don't own HP. Which is why I'm writing fanfiction.]  
**

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Chapter 25

Hermione clutched at her arm as they appeared at their destination, falling onto the ground. She felt a searing pain go through her arm as she fell. But the fire that was burning its way through her left arm stopped as quickly as it had started.

'Hermione? What's wrong?' Harry helped her up, worry evident in his eyes.

'My arm. As soon as we disapparated, it started burning, and then stopped when we arrived.'

'You got hit by a dark mark curse, didn't you?'

'Yeah.

'I told you to get it checked.'

'Other people were more hurt.

'Just becau-'

'It's fine now, stop worrying. Let's set up our wards and tent, okay?'

Harry nodded, and started saying the incantations required for protection wards. Hermione took out the tent from her bag and began setting it up. It was a new tent, so she had no clue as to what it would look like from the inside.

Within five minutes, they were both done. The tent was up, surrounded by a dome of advanced protection spells and detective charms. Hermione ducked through the tent flap into the living room of the tent. It had a few large sofas with a coffee table. There was a small kitchen on the side, by the living room. Further exploration showed them three bedrooms, two with small en-suite bathrooms and one family bathroom outside the third.

'Good buy.'

'Thanks. It was on sale.'

She placed the bag down on the table before bringing Crookshanks' house out and letting the yowling cat out. He immediately went to sit underneath the sofa, deciding to groom himself.

'I think we should get a good idea of our surroundings,' said Harry.

'Like walk around the area a bit?'

'Yeah.'

'Alright. But we have to make sure we can actually find the tent after we leave the protective charms. And we'll need disillusionment charms.'

'Use a fidelius charm. It'll make the place unplottable but let us find it.'

She lifted her wand and said the incantation, making sure to include Harry in the spell. Then they both placed disillusionment charms on themselves, but Harry put his invisibility cloak on anyway.

After that was done, they headed out of the tent and past the protective spells, into the forest.

Tall birches surrounded them, and she could hear the birds in the trees. A squirrel darted out from behind a branch before leaping onto a different pine. Small rays of light were filtering through the leaves above them. It was a picture perfect May afternoon. Life went on, here in the muggle towns. They had no clue about the many battles of the wizarding world, happening practically amongst them. Blissful ignorance.

They walked through the trees and plants, checking for any magical signatures. There were none, as predicted, but of course dark wizards would have erased their signatures. Still, it was worth checking. After ten minutes of walking, they reached the outskirts of the forest, coming to a small village.

'Should we go see the village?' Harry asked her as they looked at the village down the hill.

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. 'I don't think there's any need. Let's head back to the tent.'

They turned and walked back through the trees until they reached their protective spell boundary. She could feel the sheer force of magic as she walked through it, causing goosebumps to rise on her arms.

Both went to their separate bedrooms in the tent. Hermione sat down on her bed, allowing her mind to finally just think about the situation at hand. Ron and Malfoy were in a dungeon. They could be hurt at any moment. Or worse. She had no clue how long it could take to find them.

She thought back to the muggle village less than a mile away from them. They didn't have magic. Sometimes, just sometimes, magic scared her. The muggle in her was constantly in awe of the things that happened around her. But the muggle in her also wondered how wizards and witches learnt important life lessons, if everything was available to them with a flick of their wands. The muggle in her knew that magic could do wonderful or terrible things.

But now was not the time to think about the shortcomings of the magical world. Ron and Malfoy needed her help right now. In a way, she felt that was to blame for their capture. Nott was after her. And in trying to get her, he captured them. It wasn't fair on Ron and Malfoy. It should've been her.

_Dwelling on it won't help, _she reminded herself. Feeling guilty wasn't going to save them.

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**NOTTPOV**

He looked down the long table, stroking the owl on his shoulder. A feeling of glee came over him, gazing down at the many faces turned towards him. All there to do his bidding. All there to help him achieve his rightful position in the world. The power made him stronger. He stood up, and silence fell over the room as they waited for his words.

'My fellow deatheaters. It has been four years since the battle was lost. Four years of hiding from people intent on getting rid of us. At long last, we have all found one another again, and are ready to establish an army once more. The war has started once more, whether they know it or not.'

Applause broke out on the table. He smiled at the deatheaters before making eye contact with one sitting near him, and not clapping. He beckoned them over as the others began talking amongst themselves.

'Parkinson, my dear. Why aren't you smiling with everyone else?'

'I'm not your damned dear, Theo.'

'That's beside the point. Why aren't you happy?'

'Another war? Seriously? We lost so many people in the last one!'

'But we didn't win it. So we need to keep fighting for our cause. We are in hiding. We can't go anywhere without being judged. '

'Our cause? Or your cause? You don't give a shit about whether there are mudbloods in our society. You just want more power.'

'And you do care about the cause? I think you've become a mud-lover.'

'I just want to stop hiding. I want to walk down Diagon alley without a disillusionment charm. A war isn't the way to go about it!'

'I don't see any other way. If we win this war, we'll be free.'

'And what about the other side? How many years after the victory will it take them to fight back? We can't have a bloody war every few years!'

'That's not your choice to make. They're listening to me.'

'Fine. I'm going to the damn light side then.'

He looked at the witch standing before him. He could see the anger glinting in her dark eyes, her dark hair framing her pretty face. Looked like she had finally grown a backbone. Too bad it wasn't in favour of their cause though. He'd simply have to reduce her to a coward once again. Just like the rest.

'Listen, Parkinson. You're not changing sides whether you like it or not. You can't. There's no way. Even if you left us, how likely is it that the light side will accept you?'

She said nothing, indicating to him that he had proved his point.

'Now, go see Goyle. He'll tell you which tasks you can do.'

'But Goyle's in charge of the menial tasks!'

'Exactly. Now go.'

She glared at him before leaving, causing him to grin. She was afraid of him, deep down. She was never able to defy him. He then left the room quietly, heading towards his own room. There was something he needed to do. Something which involved tracing a certain mudblood using a dark mark summoning curse.

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**DPOV**

Draco estimated that another two hours or so had passed. His legs were cramping, so he stood up and decided to walk over to the other side of the cell.

'Got a blasted cramp,' he muttered when Weasley looked up at him.

'Already? It hasn't been that long, Malfoy.'

'I'm sorry but _some _of us aren't used to living on the floor of a dungeon.'

'Sorry but wasn't the Slytherin common room _in _a dungeon?'

'We didn't sleep on the floor, unlike some peasants in Gryffindor.'

'Well seeing as our common room was in a tower, and yours was in a bloody dungeon, I think it's you that should be used to this life. Oh wait, but it's not like that, is it? Your highness has never experienced anything but luxury has he? Well, Malfoy. Welcome to the world of someone fighting on the good side. If you're an auror for the ministry, you have to accept the fact that someday, someone will chuck you into a dungeon.'

'I don't accept losing. I refuse to accept things like defeat. You Gryffindors may call it courage, but I call it being dumb.'

Both men glared at each other from across the cell.

'On the same side, and still fighting? Some people just don't grow up.'

Both men turned in surprise at the sound of the familiar female voice. Weasley stood up, peering into the gloom but only seeing a silhouette. Draco frowned. He knew that voice. But he couldn't place it.

The woman laughed. 'You know they've moved on when they can't even remember who you are. _Lumos._'

He stood, shocked at seeing the woman in front of him. Her dark hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, falling perfectly behind her, over her black deatheater robes. He saw the small nose that turned up slightly at the end, and the full pouty lips. Her eyes, in the wandlight, appeared to be a mix between green and blue. Pansy Parkinson was one of those people whose eyes were never definite. They changed depending on mood and day, varying between hazel, green, and sometimes blue. It was so odd seeing her again. She was so different, but still the same.

'Cat got your tongue, Malfoy?'

Malfoy? Since when had they been on second-name basis?

'Pansy. I haven't seen you in a while.'

'Indeed.'

'You're working with Theo?'

'Prisoners don't ask questions, Malfoy.'

He looked at her in disbelief. What had happened to Pansy?

Weasley spoke up. 'So, Parkinson. Why're you here then, seeing as you clearly aren't here to save the love of your life.'

Pansy turned to him, and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Weasley looked at her bemused expression before pulling an '_are you thick' _face. 'Malfoy. I'm talking about Malfoy.'

So much for Weasley being wise and mature.

The brunette woman looked at redhead in disgust before shaking her head and straightening her posture. 'Come with me.' She unlocked the cell with a wave of her wand. With a second gesture, she had bound their wrists with an invisible rope, which also enabled her to pull them along.

Weasley stumbled as she pulled on the rope, before laughing dryly. 'Guess she isn't here to rescue you then, Malfoy. Tough life isn't it.'

Draco said nothing in response as they were pulled along the narrow passageway. He needed to let Granger know.

_Granger. We're being taken to the meeting right now. I don't know what's going to happen, but I doubt it'll be good. _

For a few moments there was no response, before he suddenly heard her voice in her head.

_Shit. Any clues what will happen?_

_No but I'll keep telling you. Probably a few Cruciatus curses. Maybe some others._

She said nothing for a few seconds before asking a question. _You know when you made this link? You said you could help against mind attacks. Can I do that?_

_Granger, you don't need to do that._

_Just tell me how._

_No. Your mind is already vulnerable. I'm not letting you share a bloody attack with me._

_So you just share the pain? Like help them resist it?_

Aw shit. He had given her a clue. _Just forget it Granger. _

Pansy stopped walking to tap on a brick with her wand. The wall vanished, revealing large double doors behind it.

_We're at the meeting. Can't keep talking once I'm in there. Nott is a strong legilimens. _

_Okay. Stay alive, please._

He closed off the connection as they were pulled along into the room. Rows of deatheaters lined the sides. All eyes were on himself and Weasley.

Pansy raised her wand, summoning two chairs which crashed straight into the backs of their legs, causing them to fall backwards onto the seat. Instantly chains sprung up, holding them in the chairs.

She then walked away, towards the end of the room. Draco turned his head to see where she was going. Sure enough, at the end of the grand room, stood Theodore Nott, a smile on his face.

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**A/N**

**Please leave a review! And for Thursday, HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2014 has been a wonderful year and I hope 2015 brings you a fab time! :D  
**

**Airborne Kites ;)**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**

**Ok I'm so so so so so sorry. Basically in September I moved school and so loads of things changed and in my new school, we do half my exams at the end of this year but in my old school we were meant to do them all at the end of next year. So I have so much to study for which I didn't really have planned for this year. And that's why my updating is ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. I'm never going to abandon but I felt like I owe you all this explanation as to why I never update as regularly as I used to but I'm trying and I'll try harder so stick with me guys :)**

**ALSO: If you have any suggestions about something I should add to this fic, PM me:) additions and twists to the plot are always welcome;)**

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Chapter 26

**RONPOV**

He could feel the daggers piercing his insides. Then scorching heat rushing through him before being replaced by icicles which were so cold that he could feel his body freezing over. A thousand pinpricks slowly torturing him. He was going to lose his mind. How long had they been torturing him? One hour? Two? He couldn't even remember what they wanted to know. He cracked his eyes open, looking at the room around him. His eyes met with a pair of green-blue ones. Ones that had conflict written inside them. Those eyes were the last thing he saw before drifting off into unconsciousness.

**DPOV**

Draco watched helplessly as Weasley screamed in pain. Theo ended the curse before speaking for the third time.

'I'm asking once more, Weasley. Will you join us, the pureblooded and proud, or continue to be a traitor to your kind?'

Weasley raised his slumped head and looked Theo in the eyes before spitting out, 'Fuck you.'

The dark haired wizard smirked and raised his wand once more, before uttering a curse Draco had never heard. A blue light hit Weasley in the chest, causing the man to let out unnaturally loud scream before going still.

Draco had no way of knowing if he was alive or not, and before he could try and work out what had happened, Theo spoke again.

'Draco. We are all immensely happy to see you again.'Why did pureblood maniacs always act to posh when speaking? It was a bit odd, to be honest, thought Draco. 'Will you rejoin the cause that you so foolishly gave up? Do you see the light?'

He said nothing for a moment, looking at his former friend with a highly arched left eyebrow and a smirk. 'Why're you talking like that?'

A few people around the hall hurriedly stifled laughs as Theo glared daggers at Draco before covering it up with a calm expression. 'Now is not the time for wit, Draco. It's not helping you here.'

'That's _Malfoy _to you, Nott.'

'Second-name basis? With you? I think not.'

'I think kidnapping someone and putting them in a cell kind of takes away the right of calling them by their first name.'

Theo refused to give in to his irritating behaviour. 'You've always been a difficult one.'

He laughed, looking at the man before him. 'Have you taken an ageing potion, Nott? You sound like Dumbledore or something.'

'_Crucio!'_

Pain ripped through him, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to scream at the first curse. Maybe later, if the curses got worse. As the pain stopped, he glared at the dark-haired man. 'That all you got? Pathetic, Nott. Why don't you go and cry yourself to sleep again.'

Theo's eyes flashed, indicating that Draco was walking on dangerous grounds. Not many people knew about Theo's childhood stories, and he hated bringing up his younger, whingy, crybaby self.

'It's not like you can say much, Draco. Look back at your younger self.'

'Hey, at least I didn't cry when someone called me a Gryffindor.'

'_Frigidus incensus._'

A terrible fire-ice combination of feelings went through him, causing his nerves to spasm and confusing his mind. One second it was ice cold, and the other, roasting hot. He had never known a curse like this before. It was too much.

At this point, his frayed nerves and his confused brain decided to shut down, seeing Granger's face as he blacked out.

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**HPOV**

Days passed in the same tedious, aching fashion. Harry and Hermione had apparated from place to place around Britain, searching desperately for the base of the deatheaters. Every day, Hermione was able to communicate a bit with Malfoy before she felt short tingles of pain and then just blackness through the connection, indicating a torture session from the deatheaters. By that morning, he hadn't even been able to coherently talk to her. His words were slurred and sluggish through the connection, indicating just how badly he had been tortured.

And the worst bit was, apparently she could help. But she had no clue how! She had tried sharing the connection when she felt the pain, but it never worked. It frustrated her to no end. And to top that off, the pain in her arm wouldn't get better. Whenever she apparated, or performed advanced magic, her arm would sear in pain for a moment. She found no mark, or residual dark magic, but she knew that it was where she had been hit by some sort of dark mark curse before Malfoy and Ron had been kidnapped.

She looked out from her watch post at the tent. Sun filtered in through the leaves, reflecting on the white bark of the silver birch trees, giving the forest a silver aura. It reminded her strongly, for a strange reason, of Malfoy's eyes. It was funny, she saw Malfoy in everything now. She found her thoughts frequently drifting to dwell on him. She couldn't help the worry gnawing at her mind and the butterflies fluttering around her stomach when she envisioned his face.

When had this begun to happen? Since when did she feel this _need _for him? She felt so much regret for not trying to get to know him before. She didn't even know when she would see him next. What if he… if he… _No. Nothing is going to happen to them. We'll find them._

'Hermione! I need your help with something. I think I've almost got it!'

She turned to see Harry hurrying towards her, a piece of parchment in hand. He sat down next to her on the grass, laying out the parchment in front of her. She recognised it as the map they had been recording their locations on. He flipped it over to reveal small sketches and diagrams.

'See this? The trail of magic we've been detecting isn't as random as we thought. It never appeared in a line but if you look at all the locations, they're a certain distance from one another. This is where I need your help. I couldn't find that many links but I've written any I did find. Maybe it's something to do with the distances?'

She pursed her lips before shaking her head. No obvious pattern there, except for the uniform distances.

Harry pointed to a different diagram. 'I don't know if this link is a bit far-fetched, but join them up with a line, and-'

Hermione gasped, looking at the shape. 'A pentagram.'

Harry grinned in relief at her look of recognition. 'Maybe not so far-fetched then.'

She summoned her beaded bag, which came whizzing through the tent flap. She then started rummaging through it, pulling out a few books. _Ah. There it is. _Symbols in Magic: Exploring the Frighteningly Obvious.

It was a heavy, voluminous book, and it was perfect for checking what she was certain the map was showing her. She rifled through the chapters until she found the section she was looking for. A large five pointed star stood out on one page, with detailed annotations scrawled across the next. She scanned through it before looking at the map in amazement, studying the intricacies of the shape before her. Each corner, each area, so well planned, so perfectly laid out, that unfortunately it was going to be extremely hard to break through.

She turned back to Harry before explaining the shape drawn out on the parchment. 'A pentagram's been used in muggle religions all around the world, and it usually signifies something magical. They've sometimes seen it as a symbol of protection, but in the wizarding world, it can be used in a good way or a bad way. In the last century or so, however, it's rarely used due to the fact that modern wizards don't believe in symbology much, but when it is used, it's hasn't been with a good intention. This is probably because dark wizards tend to have more traditionalist values and so haven't quite given up belief in symbols, and rightly so, in my opinion. Different shapes with different typed of magic could have extraordinary effects when done correctly. This pentagram here has five points of magic surrounding a pentagon in the centre. Each of the points should have something to do with one of the five elements: water, fire, air, earth, spirit. If they've done this right, the pentagon will be an area of unique magic depending on the position of the spells around it. So most likely, the base is somewhere in this pentagon, and hidden well due to the protection effect of a pentagram.'

Harry stared in awe first at her, and then at the map, and then at the book. 'How in the name of _Godric_ did you know all of that? Half the stuff you just said isn't even in the annotations! Freaking hell, Hermione.'

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**RONPOV**

Merlin, it hurt. It hurt all over. Pain was rushing through his body from one side to the other; a particularly disorientating feeling which caused him to moan in pain. His head felt heavy, but not in the way that made resting easy. Everything was difficult. He moaned again, trying to alert Malfoy to his consciousness.

No reply came, causing Ron to assume that Malfoy too, was badly injured and probably unconscious. He attempted to crack an eye open, and instead of seeing the grey of the cell ceiling, he saw a mix of purples and greens.

_What the…? Merlin, what did they do to my eyesight?!_

He panicked, wondering whether this was what it was like to go blind. He tried shaking his head, only to be gently stopped by a cool hands holding him down. He stilled suddenly, apprehensive.

One blue eye opened slowly, followed by the other, adjusting to the light and colours around him. At first all he saw was a blur of colours, but soon his surroundings came into focus. A pale green wall with purple designs, a purple and green ceiling canopy. The pillowcase beneath his head was a dark purple, matching the scheme. But what _didn't _match the scheme was the blurry shape above him. The person. He squinted, trying to focus on them. Brown hair. Long brown hair.

'Weasley? Nod if you can hear me.'

It was a woman, apparently, judging by the voice. But was she to be trusted? He did nothing, choosing to lie still.

'Please let him be alive, Merlin. Please,' the brunette woman whispered to herself.

He felt a cool towels being placed on his body; his head, legs, stomach, arms. With each towel the pain receded somewhat, and he let out a small hiss of relief. The woman drew out her wand before muttering a few incantations which immediately relieved his head of the invisible weight it was carrying.

Sleep began to overtake his senses, but before it dragged him down, his eyes focused on the lady tending to him. Ocean blue met green-blue, a moment of recognition before his mind temporarily closed down.

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**A/N**

**Leave a review! Be as critical as you like:)**

** Next chapter is being written rn I PROMISE.  
**

**Airborne Kites;)**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N**

**It's been way too long, I know, and I'm sorry *hangs head in shame*.**

**I think I had some writers block I had no clue where to go BUT I think we're getting somewhere and we're close to some ACTION.**

**I'm not going to explain myself too much and tire you so ON WITH THE CHAPTER WHICH IS VERY VERY LATE but I hope you like it. The next one will probably come within a few weeks because SUMMER HOLIDAYS WHOOP.**

**k enjoy**

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Chapter 27

**HPOV**

She stifled her breathing as a silhouette walked past, inches from her hiding place under Harry's invisibility cloak. On her left was a small run-down muggle building with no lights on, and a few windows had been boarded up, giving it a haunted look. Over the past two hours, as soon as the sun had set, various people had been appearing around the building, coming and going in a subtle fashion, unaware of the witch watching them nearby.

The silhouette suddenly stopped and turned towards her hiding place, a streetlamp illuminating his features. His dark eyes glinted and a grin slipped into place, and her heart began hammering through her ribcage. He walked slowly, like a predator stalking its prey, his arm stretched out and his lips curling over his teeth in a sneer. _Shit. _

She inched away from his arm, watching his sneer transform into a frown as he swatted at the air. Passers-by gave him strange looks but he paid no attention to them, glaring at a spot 2 metres to her right. She carried on shuffling away until she turned a corner, where she immediately broke into a run until she knew she was out of earshot, and she could disapparate back to the tent. As she twisted to disapparate, she felt a searing pain in her arm and almost cried out, but the feeling of being pressed through a tube put a halt to her vocal expressions.

She stood still for a moment, regaining her breath as the pain in her arm receded, before walking the short distance to the entrance of the tent. As soon as she entered, Harry looked up from the symbol analysis he was reading. 'Any advances?'

She nodded before slumping down into an armchair. 'I think I found the entrance building. I don't know if the actual location of the headquarters is there, or if this building is a means of getting there, like the toilets they used to have for the ministry entrance. And someone noticed I was there. I didn't let them confirm their suspicions, but I reckon they'll be on the watch now, so we have to attack soon.'

Harry looked at the book in his lap. 'I reckon it's not the actual headquarters, because if we're going by the pentagon thing, it has to be further east.'

'Pentagram,' she corrected, giving him a small smile.

They sat in silence as they thought about where they would go next. Harry stood up, looking at her. 'Does trying to get into that building tonight seem like a good idea to you?'

She cocked her head in thought, wondering of the implications of attacking so soon. The longer they waited, the more danger they were placing Ron and Malfoy in. She and Harry didn't have anything they had to wait for; they knew the locations of the five points of the pentagram if they needed them. Perhaps tonight was indeed the best option. 'Well, we should eat a bit and get some rest first.'

He nodded before frowning. 'What about your arm?'

Her arm could hinder them during any fight, but she knew that if they didn't attack now there was less chance of getting Malfoy and Ron out alive. 'I can take pain-relief potions. And I'll cast some charms on it. I think it's best if we attack as soon as we can.'

Hermione knew full well that this attack was most probably _the _attack. The chance they had to save the two men who were being tortured. The chance they had to discover more about why so many deatheaters were around.

He nodded again, checking the watch on his wrist which he had received from Molly Weasley all those years go. 'It's just past ten. If we eat now and then sleep for a couple of hours we can leave at around two.'

'Sounds good. Early hours are supposed to be good for magic, aren't they?'

He grinned. 'Probably just an old Witches tale Hermione.'

'If it was a Witches tale, it was probably right,' she said with a smile as she stood up and walked over to the small kitchen area. 'Bread and eggs sound good?'

'Sounds good. I'll do the eggs if you want. My signature scrambled eggs.'

She stepped aside and gestured to the shelf. 'It's all yours.' His scrambled eggs were really quite good. A quick enlargement charm and a medium heating charm later, the toast was being prepared.

They ate quickly before heading to their respective rooms, agreeing that it would be safe enough for three and a half hours without having to take lookout shifts. They used a few more safety spells as a precaution though, just in case, before they took a couple of health potions each and went to sleep.

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**DPOV**

One part of his brain felt oddly at peace, as if it were in a deep sleep. The other part, the larger part, was screaming in agony.

His hearing began tuning in to voices near him, and he kept his eyes closed as he tried to listen to the conversation, lest they should see his consciousness and stop talking.

'I hate it. I'm sorry, for everything. I'm so sorry.' The voice - a familiar, female voice, - broke slightly as this woman apologised to whomever she was talking to. Draco concentrated on working out who the woman was, and soon had a good idea of who it could be.

'It isn't your fault,' a man croaked. Draco was quite sure that this man was Weasley. 'And thank you. Thank you for healing my injuries, and thank you for trying to save us even though you are one of them.'

'I don't wish to be on this side. I pray to Merlin that the light side will triumph if this begins another war.'

'Who are you anyway? Why are you with the deatheaters if you don't support what they do?'

Internally, Draco snorted. Obviously Weasley had a quite naïve mindset. Children born in supremist families couldn't simply decide whether they wanted to follow their parents. It was do or die. A child only truly understands what they are doing once they begin to mature into adults, and by that time, it was usually too late to do much about it unless you had the courage to break free and flee.

'I won't tell you who I am, Weasley, but I'm sure you'll work it out soon.' How had Weasley not recognised her yet? By now, Draco was almost one hundred percent sure he knew who the woman was. 'And as to why I follow them? What other choice do I have? I've had no say in my own life since I was a child. It will be too hard for me to free myself from these people, but I can still free you. And I promise I will help you out, even if it's the last thing I do.'

Movement was heard, as well as a door being opened as Weasley spoke quietly with a slight croak, 'You don't have to do this for us. You'll get killed if they find out.'

'I know,' replied Pansy Parkinson in a sad voice, as she shut the door behind her and left.

Weasley protested quietly as the door closed, but he quietened down as it clicked shut.

He opened his grey eyes, squinting in the dim light of their cellar prison. Back here now that Nott was done with him. He looked over at Weasley to see his breaths evening out as he drifted to sleep. Through the lingering pain of torture curses, Draco could find a small area of peace in his mind. He focused on the odd calm side of his brain, diving his consciousness towards it to relieve his brain of all the pain he could. He rapidly realised that this tranquil side was not his own brain, but the connection between him and a seemingly sleeping Granger.

It felt good, though, and he decided to stay focused there for a while. He made his brain hold on to this calm puddle surrounded by the ocean of hellfire in his mind, and was finally able to close his eyes in peace, with reduced fear and anger. A sigh escaped his mouth as his tired mind and body had a chance to get rid of some of the tension within.

Evidently this was Granger's first good sleep in a while too, or he would have felt like this before. He contemplated this as he drifted off, seeing Hermione Granger in his mind's eye and feeling an odd contentedness in his heart.

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**HPOV**

She awoke at half past one as the set alarm in her wand started ringing. As she sat up, she could hear Harry's ringing too, followed by a few annoyed murmurs followed by a thump as he stood up. With a light flick of her wand, she summoned her beaded bag and rolled ungracefully out of her bed, shaking her head to clear her mind.

It had been a good sleep, better than any previous nights. She knew she could contribute that to the health potions she had taken before she had slept, and yet the whole night, through her deep sleep, she had felt a small ache in her mentality. It was no physical ache which she could find and heal, and she just knew that this pain was not her own. This suffering was a part of the mind connected to hers currently, and the feeling just this taster of what Malfoy was going through caused her stomach to plummet, and her heart began to ache slightly too.

He didn't deserve this. If she had just come to work later, if she had been feeling better, she wouldn't have ended up telling him anything. No one would know, and Nott would only be after her. No one else would have had to suffer. Ron and Malfoy were being _tortured _because of her. She had tried not to focus on this but she could hold it back no longer. This thought, this guilt, came crashing onto her in a painful wave.

Her facial expressions must have been conveying her thoughts all too well, as Harry into her room and upon seeing her, asked, 'Hermione, are you okay?' in a concerned tone.

She spoke rapidly, her voice almost frantic. 'This is my fault, isn't it Harry? All this shit we're in. All the trouble Malfoy and Ron are in. It's all becaus-'

'Stop,' he interrupted. 'Hermione, you're missing something very big here. Yes, you were the first one Nott went after. Yes, his attack on you was the beginning. But you honestly can't be thinking that this whole new rise of deatheaters is solely on your shoulders. I reckon they've been on the rise for a while, and they just chose you as a target to show they've commenced a war. I understand that Nott has a personal vendetta against you for killing his father, yes. But why would they be raising their forces again if their only problem was you?'

Hermione absorbed his words, and they began making sense to her. A weight lifted off her shoulders for a second before the weights crashed back down even harder, her relief overpowered immediately by more worry. She had a strong feeling that it would require a whole lot more than just the auror department to overcome this problem. She also had a feeling that the aurors hadn't realised the gravity of the situation, even since the ministry attack. A new, rising army could only mean one thing. A war was about to start soon, for the third time in the last three decades.

But this time, nobody was prepared.

* * *

**A/N**

**I hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review, favourite, or follow, it is much appreciated.**

**Until next time, **

**Airborne Kites ;)**


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